Rose of Evil
by Kyoutenka
Summary: Once upon a time in a far away place, there was an evil kingdom that no person dared to face. The ruler was a cruel pink haired princess of age twenty, and she had a loyal teal haired servant who always stood by her side.  Based on "Story of Evil"
1. The Daughter of Evil

**Hello everyone ^_^ I haven't written a fic for a long time. The last one was around 5 years ago I think? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Vocaloid. This story is based on Akuno-P's (mothy) Story of Evil song series. **

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**...**

"_Once upon a time in a far away place, there was an evil kingdom that no person dared to face. _

_The ruler was a cruel pink haired princess who was of age twenty. _

_Fine furniture littered her palace and she had a loyal teal haired servant who always stood by her side._

_She had a magnificent horse named Elizabeth and all the riches of the world belonged to her."_

**...**

**Chapter I: The Daughter of Evil**

**...**

"Now, kneel before me!"

A heavy silence filled the air as the people in the audience hall watched the princess on the throne. She wore a marvellous pink gown made by the finest tailors in the land and the rarest jewels that money could buy. Pink hair was common in their country, but the Princess's hair was exceptionally radiant and beautiful. It reached just below the waist and it was an object of envy among many women. Her eyes had a sapphire color that reminded people of the ocean and her skin was light and soft. The Princess's voice was exceptionally beautiful as well; everyone would fall silent in amazement whenever she would sing.

She could have been the perfect woman that every man could dream of; however…her attitude far contrasts her perfect physical appearance. The infamous Princess of the Rose Kingdom was the cruelest person to ever walk the land. The selfish and proud girl did not care about the hardships that her people were undergoing. She mistreated her servants and threw them in the dungeon for the tiniest mistakes.

What she wants is what she gets. Everything belonged to her and everyone was expected to obey her every whim. Everyone was under her control and she showed no mercy to anyone; not to her servants, not to her soldiers, not to the nobles, and most definitely not to the girl before her begging on her knees.

"Please Princess Luka, have mercy on my family," a brown haired girl bowed so low that her forehead was touching the floor. "My mother is dying from sickness and my brother is weak from hunger. I'm the only one in the family with a job and it's not enough to pay the taxes. We barely have enough to eat."

The princess continued to observe her emotionlessly. The peasant before Luka looked like she was around 21 to 25 years old. Her shoulder length hair was messy and she was thin from hunger.

"What is your name, peasant?" Luka propped her elbow on the throne's arm and rested her chin on her hand.

"Meiko, your highness," the girl wearing the flimsy red dress answered.

"You're the daughter of late Captain Leon are you not?" Luka asked. She remembered that Leon served her ever since her parents became the monarchs, but she had him secretly murdered when she found out that he was stealing food from the palace and giving it to his family and neighbours. The following day, his body was found by his daughter in the river, but she doesn't know who was responsible for his death.

Meiko finally looked up from the floor and to the Princess's cold eyes, hoping that Luka might actually grant her request because of her father's position in the castle. But all her hopes were shattered when the princess leered at her.

"Your request is denied," said Luka, her voice ringing across the room. Luka thought these people were foolish. Almost everyday, people would ask for an audience with her, requesting her to lower the tax even by just a little because they did not have enough money to survive. Her answer was always the same unless the person could offer her something that will benefit her.

"B-but…why?" Meiko asked in a shaky voice mixed with sorrow and anger. "You have all the riches in the world! Isn't the money you have more than enough? You don't have a family to take care of, unlike us! All I'm asking is a little cut in the tax, it won't even affect you!"

"Silence, fool!" Luka crossed her legs and flipped her elegant pink hair. "Nobody questions my word! Now leave before you anger me any further."

"You…HEARTLESS MONSTER!" Meiko suddenly stood up and took a step forward. "**HOW MUCH MORE ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE FROM US BEFORE YOU ARE COMPLETELY SATISFIED?**"

"Guards, seize her!" a voice from Luka's side shouted. Before Meiko could take another step forward, two guards grabbed her arms and pulled her back to her original position.

Luka raised an eyebrow at Meiko. Many people sobbed uncontrollably when their request was denied, but Meiko was the first one to yell at her, and call her a heartless monster to add. The princess let out an amused chuckle and looked to her right, from where the voice came from. Beside her stood a teal haired servant girl who looked no less than 16, wearing a black knee-length dress with white frills and long sleeves.

The pink haired princess stood from her throne and looked down at Meiko from her high position. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you leave in peace." From the way Meiko's lips trembled, it seems that she was about to say something, but Luka interrupted her before she could continue. "If I hear another word from you, peasant…I will double your taxes and have your house burned to the ground. Do I make myself clear?" Meiko's eyes widened in surprise; she clenched her fist and nodded slowly as she tried to control her anger, she was completely powerless against her. "Good," Luka sat back down on her throne and smirked at the poor girl once more. "You are dismissed."

'She truly is…the Daughter of Evil…' Meiko thought to her self as the guards escorted her out of the room, still not letting go of her arms.

When the doors closed, all that remained in the room was the princess and the teal haired girl standing next to her throne. Luka may be a cruel towards her servants, but this one was special case. This servant was the person Luka trusts the most.

"Miku, what time is it?" Luka asked her, breaking the short silence in the room.

"I believe it is around 2:30, Princess Luka," the servant replied as she turned her head to face her. The princess looked directly at Miku's teal eyes as she paused for a while.

"Miku, don't you remember what I said yesterday?"

"Umm…well…"

"I told you you're allowed to call me Luka when it's just the two of us." It wasn't actually a request or permission; it was more of an order.

"Yes P-pr…Luka," Miku managed to say her name without the title. "As you wish."

"Much better," Luka said as she stood up and smiled contently. Contrary to what most people say, Luka can actually express kindness, tolerance, and patience…but only towards her special servant. Miku walked slightly behind Luka as she and the princess made their way through the halls of her castle. "Please bring my afternoon tea to the usual spot in the garden. I also want it to be Chamomille."

"Of course, Luka," Miku smiled at her before heading towards the kitchen. Luka took a glance at Miku's back as she walked down the other hallway. Miku physical looks were above average…well, except for her small chest size. But what stood out the most was her hair. She was the only one in the Rose Kingdom, and perhaps the entire continent, with teal hair. It was usually tied in two twin tails, but if she lets it down, it reaches all the way to the ground.

Luka smiled at her loyal servant's back momentarily as she headed towards her favorite spot in the garden.

**...oooooooooooooooooooo...**

Miku walked across the garden with a silver tray of tea and snacks. Luka liked having her tea in the patio beside the garden's gigantic pond. The area was covered by a few trees, so the patio cannot be seen clearly from the castle, giving Luka the right amount of privacy. When the princess took notice of a familiar shadow drawing closer, she turned her head from the pond to face her servant. Luka smiled at her teal haired servant as she placed the contents of the tray before her; she always had her snack at 3:00 and Miku would always bring it to her on the dot. Miku smiled back at her as she poured tea on the expensive looking cup.

"How is the tea?" Miku asked as she watched her princess sip it slowly.

"It's perfect like always," Luka replied while putting down the cup to take a bite of her pastry. "You always make the best tea after all. That's why I never let anyone else make it except you."

"I'm glad you like them," said Miku as her smile got wider. Other than her teal hair and eyes, Luka also liked the way Miku smiled. It was so charming and bright that it could light up an entire room; it was a smile fitting for a kind and gentle girl like Miku. She was in fact, the complete opposite of Princess Luka. Miku was a patient girl who followed Luka's every order without complain, but nobody understood how a person like Miku was able to put up with the cruel Luka. What's even stranger is that the girl claims that Luka always treats her nicely, even if she messes up sometimes. If Miku was just an ordinary servant, she would've been thrown in the dungeon already, or worse, executed.

The pink haired girl swirled the contents of her cup and stared at it before taking another drink. The red color of the chamomile tea reminded her of her audience earlier.

"That foolish peasant should've known better than to argue with me," said Luka with an arrogant tone. "If I didn't have that fabulous tuna for lunch earlier, then I wouldn't have been in the mood to spare her. If she had yelled at me on another day, I would've sent her to the guillotine immediately."

"I guess Ms. Meiko should consider herself lucky then," Miku answered as she stood next to Luka.

"Exactly!" Luka finished the last drop of tea in her cup and put it down, a signal for Miku to pour more tea. When Miku put down the teapot, Luka smiled at her, "Why don't you take a seat and help yourself to some pastries?"

"Oh…no thank you, I wouldn't want to be rude and…"

"Oh, but I insist. Besides, I don't think I'd be able to finish all these by myself."

"Well, if you say so."

Miku took a seat across Luka and placed her hands on her lap. She stayed motionless for a few minutes until Luka slid the plate of pastries toward her. "Here, have some."

With a faint blush on her cheek, Miku took one from the plate. "T-Thank you."

Luka laughed softly as Miku took a bite of the bread; she always found it cute whenever her servant blushed or stuttered. Miku was quite close to Luka, but it still feels awkward when she is asked to act informally around the princess since she is just a servant. Even if she's been her personal servant for 3 years, she was still reserved and shy around her. Luka didn't mind however, because she liked her servant just they way she is.

While Luka found her servant's smile to be cute, Miku thought that the princess's laugh and smiles were beautiful as well. It was innocent and child-like, something that bought about a sense of nostalgia to Miku.

**...**

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**First chapter complete ^o^ It's my first time writing about this type of pairing, so I'm not sure if the beginning's that good. **

**Yup, the lyrics here are a bit different just to match the story. This is based on Story of Evil; however, character roles will also be different, so expect a few twists and turns. I already have the entire plot written down up to the end, so all I have to do is weave the words into a story. But since I have school, I'll be quite busy. So expect an update maybe around 1 or 2 weeks, 1 month at worst, but I promise it won't exceed for more than a month per update.**

**Don't forget to leave comments, reviews (even if it's anonymus), or suggestions so that I can write this story better. It also inspires me and helps me write faster.**


	2. The Servant's Morning

**Here's the 2nd chapter. After countless sleep deprived days, I'm finally done with my finals, OWATA! \(^o^)/ **

**Happy Birthday Miku!**

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**Chapter II: The Servant's Morning**

**...**

When the rooster started crowing, the teal haired servant squirmed around the bed for a few minutes before finally deciding to open her eyes. She poked out her head from under the blanket and looked at the clock on the wall that read 5:05. She usually got up at around 5:30, so she considered dozing off for a few more minutes, but she suddenly remembered that the last time she did that, she woke up two hours later. Miku groaned before finally leaving the comfort of her warm bed; she fixed it before heading towards her bathroom.

Unlike other servants, Miku's room was quite large and it had expensive furniture in it. She slept in a king-sized canopy bed and she had a small area in the corner of the room to entertain guests. She had a large study table next to a bookshelf, which was as high as the ceiling and filled with books from top to bottom. The size of her bathroom was a quarter of her large bedroom, not including the walk-in closet next to it. The closet had all her clothes in it such as her uniforms, two cloaks, and a few casual and formal dresses given to her by the Princess. In fact, the whole room used to belong to Luka. When she became Luka's personal servant, she gave Miku her old room since she was using the bigger bedroom that her late parents used to sleep in.

After spending a good 15 minutes in the bath, Miku dried herself and put on her uniform. She then took a black string tie and wore it around her neck like a ribbon. When she was done wearing her clothes, she proceeded to dry her hair. Miku brushed and tied it into twin tails, which was an arduous task because she had quite a lot of hair. The only reason she hasn't cut it short yet was because the princess didn't want her to, saying that she loved how long her hair was. So Miku was only allowed to trim her teal hair if she started tripping on it.

Finally satisfied with the way her hair was fixed, she opened a small box containing a silver pendant with an aquamarine gemstone. It was the only thing she possessed before she moved in the castle. She wore it around her neck and hid it under her dress. She inspected herself in the mirror one last time before heading out her room.

People would usually be moving around the castle by 6:00, but since the roosters crowed a little too early today, there were already a few servants going about their duties. Miku greeted each of them a good morning as they passed by her in the halls. Miku was unofficially the second-in-command around the castle because of her relationship with Princess Luka, but she still follows orders from Kiyoteru Hiyama, the head butler. Since he probably won't be appearing until 6, Miku decided to take a stroll in the garden to feel the morning breeze.

"YEOW!"

Miku suddenly turned her head when she heard a male voice yelp. She walked over to the source of the voice to see a blue haired man entangled in the rose bushes. "Kaito? Are you alright?"

"Haha, yeah…just a minor problem" the 20 year old man tried to pull himself free, but he couldn't pull too hard, otherwise he would damage the roses and the princess would have his head.

"Here, let me help," Miku knelt beside Kaito and gently untangled his clothes from the rose thorns. She started with his pale blue scarf, then his two white long sleeves. "There you go. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"It's just a few scratches, nothing serious, but thanks for helping Miku."

"It's no problem," Miku reached her hand out to Kaito and helped him stand up. "By the way, how on earth did you get tangled up like that?"

"You see that rose over there?" The blue haired gardener pointed at a beautiful and fully bloomed pink rose. It really stood out among all the flowers in the bush. "I wanted to put it in a vase along with some other flowers, but when I went in to grab it, my clothes got caught. I tried to pull out, but I got tangled even more."

Miku laughed softly as Kaito narrated his short story. "Well, although it's beautiful, it's surrounded by a lot of thorns."

"Yeah, it does have a lot of thorns, but that doesn't mean its untouchable," He scratched the back of his head and let out a soft chuckle. "You just have to pick out the thorns little by little. It's going to take a lot of time and patience, but once you have that beautiful flower in your hands, it's all worth it."

Miku just blinked and beamed a friendly smile at the gardener. When it comes to plants and flowers, he could be quite poetic and passionate.

"Oh no! My favourite scarf! It's ruined!" Kaito held out the other end of his scarf and tearfully looked at the small holes, immediately forgetting about the oh-so-beautiful rose.

"Don't worry, just have Miki fix it," Miku suggested. "I'm sure she'll make it look like it's brand new."

"Yeah…" Kaito picked up his gardening tools and watering can and began walking away sadly, mumbling something about his scarf. Miku just shook her head in amusement at Kaito; he was a funny and weird guy who loved ice cream. It was like air and water to him, and it was amazing how he never gets fat after eating all those sweet things. But despite his weirdness, Kaito was a pretty cool and nice person; he was like the big brother Miku never had.

The young girl was just about to go to the pond when she spotted a man with black hair standing on the porch clad in a fancy black butler uniform. "Good morning, Kiyoteru. You're up early." Miku greeted her boss.

"Good morning, Miku" Kiyoteru covered his mouth and let out a small yawn. "It seems like the roosters woke up a good number of people early. Anyway, I want to get a few things done early today and not everyone is awake yet. So do you mind if you run a few errands before her highness wakes up?"

"Not at all, just tell me what to do."

"Here's a short list of things I need you to pick up in town," Kiyoteru handed Miku a folded piece of paper and some money. "There are a few extra coins there, so go ahead and buy yourself some breakfast." The head butler knew that the princess wouldn't mind a few missing coins if Miku was the one who used them.

"Thank you," Miku read the list a while and then folded it back. "I'll be back in time to wake up Princess Luka."

"That's good, now off you go then," Kiyoteru said with a smile as the young girl walked back inside the castle.

****...oooooooooooooooooooo...****

"Thank you! Please come again!" the girl inside the cloth shop shouted. In Miku's hand were two bags; one was full of cloth and strings and the other had blank papers and ink. By the time she had finished her errands, the town bell rang thrice, which meant that it was already 6:00. The town bell could be heard from all over the kingdom and it usually rings at three hour intervals starting at 6 in the morning and ending at 9 in the evening.

"That should be the last of it." Miku pocketed her list and looked at the five gold coins left over. She thought of what to do with the money as she walked towards the castle.

Miku could see that the people in town were already up and about, doing their own business. She was the only teal haired person in the kingdom and everyone knew of her position as the princess's servant, so people reacted in either three different ways whenever they see her. Usually she would just be ignored and be treated just like everyone else, but sometimes people would deliberately avoid her as if she were a plague. There were also few people who knew that she was a really nice girl, so they didn't hesitate to greet her whenever she passed by. It was also like that in the castle; a few servants disliked Miku simply because she was the princess's favorite.

After a while, Miku finally decided to go to the bakery; one gold coin was more than enough to buy a bag full of bread. The thought of having freshly made bread made her mouth water, but she snapped out of her thoughts when she felt someone bump into her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," the two of them said in unison. When they raised their heads, the servant's eyes widened as the person suddenly took a step back and looked bitterly at her.

"You…" it was Meiko, the girl who had an outburst in front of the princess recently. "…the demon's pet dog."

"Are you alright?" Miku asked as she watched Meiko straighten her dress; it seems like the same one she wore the last time she had an audience with the Princess.

"I'm not thanks to you!" Meiko snapped at the younger girl. "Even with two jobs, it's barely enough to keep us alive! I work day and night only to have the money I earned taken away from me!"

"I'm sorry, I…"

"Tsk…don't bother! You'll never understand what we're going through!"

Meiko proceeded to walk the other way until Miku called out to her. "Wait!"

"What?" Meiko grumpily turned towards the servant and crossed her arms. But her eyes widened when she saw Miku holding out five gold coins to her.

"I know it's not much, but here." Miku walked forward and put the money in Meiko's hand. "You can use it to buy some food or maybe even medicine."

Meiko continued to stare dumbfounded at the money in her hand. Five gold coins was already a lot of money for a peasant like her, because what Miku was giving her was more than what she could make in a month. "Why?" Meiko asked, finally looking at the servant's teal eyes.

"I guess you can think of it as some sort of apology for the Princess's behavior," Miku just shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Do you do this to every person that the Princess rejects?"

"Not always. I was just lucky to have some spare money while I ran into you."

"…I see…" Meiko looked at her hand and clutched the coins tightly. She hated Luka and everyone else who was loyal to her, and in front of her was the most loyal subject of them all. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have accepted the money; but she had to swallow her pride for the sake of her family. "T-Thank you…" Meiko bowed politely before walking past her.

Miku simply smiled, happy that she was able to help. She transferred the bag full of cloth to her other hand and headed towards the castle.

****...oooooooooooooooooooo...****

Miku went to the kitchen to have some breakfast after giving Kiyoteru the items she got this morning. She exchanged a few 'Good Mornings' with the chefs until she finally arrived at the wooden dining table.

"Hey there, Miku!" a green and red haired girl both greeted simultaneously. The red haired girl was Teto, the head chef of the castle. Even though she was shorter and looked younger than Miku, she was actually older than the Princess…or even Kiyoteru. Her most striking feature was her two twin tails that were shaped like drills. She insists that her hair style is called _"Princess Curls"_, but servants call it _"Twin Drills"_ if they want to annoy her.

The green haired girl is Gumi, a maid and one of Miku's close friends. She was as bright and cheerful as Miku, which was why the two of them got along pretty well. The only unusual thing about Gumi was the glasses that were always hanging on top of her head. She never uses it for her eyes and it only seems to act as an accessory, similar to a head band.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Teto asked as Miku pulled a chair to sit on.

"I'll just have what you guys are having," Miku was then handed a plate with eggs and sausages. She spent the whole morning in the kitchen chatting with her friends until the clock stuck eight. Miku excused herself from the table and gave her empty plate to the dishwasher.

"Hey Miku, don't forget to bring your helmet and shield!" the whole room soon burst into laughter as soon as Gumi said that.

Miku laughed a little before heading out to do the most challenging task of the day: waking Luka up. The Princess's room was right next to Miku's; she was the only person entrusted with the key to Luka's room, and she was also the only one who could wake up the pink haired girl without being sent to the dungeon. Nevertheless, it was still a dangerous task; one time, Luka was so cranky that she accidentally threw a heavy book right smack on Miku's forehead. The red mark on the poor servant's upper face didn't disappear for the entire day.

Miku took a deep breath as she unlocked the door and entered the Princess's room, which was twice the size and twice as extravagant as her own room. The servant girl closed the door and spotted the giant bed where Luka lay fast asleep under the thick blankets. She grabbed a chair and sat near Luka's bedside as she watched her Princess sleep. Luka would wake up as early as 8:00 and as late as 12 noon, but Miku couldn't allow that since she had to perform several tasks, so she only allowed Luka to sleep until 9.

Miku passed the time by reading a book that she took from Luka's night stand. When the clock's short hand pointed to 9, the servant knew that it was definitely time for Luka to get out of bed.

"Luka?" the teal haired girl shook Luka gently, who remained in the same position throughout the entire hour. "Luka, it's time to wake up."

Miku shook the girl until she stirred from her position. But instead of getting up, Luka turned her body away from Miku and pulled the covers over her head. "Five more minutes…"

"I already gave you 12 'Five more minutes', it's time to get up now," the servant girl sighed and pulled the covers back down until it was covering only half of Luka's body.

"No." This time, without opening her eyes, the pink haired girl took one of her pillows and smacked it at Miku before burying her head under it.

'At least it was soft,' Miku sighed and rubbed the spot where Luka painlessly smacked her. "Come on Luka, sleeping too long is bad for your health."

"I don't care…go away…" the stubborn girl answered back.

"Please Luka, will you j…"

"If you don't leave right now, I AM SENDING YOU TO THE GUILLOTINE!" Luka raised her voice and interrupted the girl before pulling the blanket over her head once again. She stayed under for a few seconds before she suddenly shot up, finally realizing what she said. Luka looked at her servant, whose shocked face mirrored her own. After a few more seconds, she broke off from Miku's gaze and ruffled her own hair. "Never mind. Just prepare my bath."

"Understood," said Miku as she wordlessly headed to the bathroom to start running the water. 'That was new…'

Luka remained seated on her bed as she face-palmed. She was not a morning person, so she was always cranky if some one wakes her up; unfortunately, Miku had to put up with this everyday for 3 years. She would sometimes blurt out illogical stuff or toss random things when Miku wakes her. Luka would get mad sometimes, but she would never send Miku to the guillotine, no matter what.

The said servant emerged from the room a few minutes later and told her that the bath was ready. Luka groggily stepped off her bed and headed towards the bathroom; she closed the door, tossed aside her nightgown on the marble floor, and stepped into the warm bath. The crankiness just seemed to melt away as she allowed the water to wash over her body.

**...**

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**I'm so sorry if this chapter came out a little boring OTL …the next chapter will be more interesting, I promise!**

**Thanks for reviewing everyone! :D**


	3. Wishful Thinking

**3rd chapter! :D I didn't get to check the grammar and spellings quite well, so yeah...if there are errors, I'm sorry ^_^. If you guys can point them out in reviews, thanks :D (I'll fix them in the next time I upload since I don't want to keep you guys waiting)**

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**Chapter III: Wishful Thinking**

**...**

Luka sipped the last drop of her coffee and placed the cup down. Miku stood next to her the whole time; since only Luka and Kiyoteru were in the room, the princess offered her some breakfast, but she politely refused since she just had some. Luka removed the table napkin from her lap and signalled the maids in the room to clear the table. "What's the agenda for today Kiyoteru?"

"You have a few documents that need signing and there are a couple of nobles and subjects who wish to have an audience with you in the afternoon," the man answered as he shifted the glasses on his face.

Luka answered with an irritated groan; she absolutely hated reading and signing papers. "Anything else?"

Kiyoteru flipped through his small book and ran his finger across it before answering. "Today is the day the Queen of the Yellow Kingdom invited you over of dinner."

"Cancel it," Luka said almost immediately, making Miku and Kiyoteru raise an eyebrow at her. "I don't feel like going there today." It was expected of the Princess, if she doesn't want to go, then she won't go.

"Would my lady like to reschedule the dinner to next week?" Kiyoteru inquired.

"Fine…I'll write a letter, just have the messenger deliver it."

"We…don't have any more messengers, your Highness. The others ran away and the ones who remained were executed already…"

"Even the one I sent to the dungeon last week?"

"He died in the torture chamber…"

"What about the other servants?"

Kiyoteru scanned his book once again before shaking his head slowly. "All the servants are busy, your Highness. The only one who's free is Miku…"

The two of them looked at Miku who just smiled back. "I can deliver the letter. Master Kiyoteru's right, I don't have any other tasks for today." Miku's tasks were kept to a minimum since she already had to deal with Luka.

"Alright…" Luka sighed, having no other choice. "Just be back in time for my afternoon tea."

"Yes, Princess Luka." Miku pulled the chair as Luka stood up from her seat.

"What would you like to have for lunch, my lady?" Kiyoteru asked.

Luka thought for awhile before finally deciding on lobsters and prawns. She then proceeded to the exit, with Miku following behind. "Oh, and Kiyoteru…" Luka paused without turning her head towards the man. "Hire new messengers."

**...oooooooooo...**

"Hmm…I see…" the Queen of the Yellow Kingdom just finished reading the letter from Luka. "To think I was going to have a nice tuna dinner prepared. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped…"

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Queen Lily," Miku bowed politely.

"No worries at all, we can always have dinner another time." Queen Lily was a respectable individual with greyish blue eyes and long blond hair, just like the majority of the people in her country. The only similarity she had with Luka was that she was the ruler of her country. While the 21 year old Lily held the title "_Queen_", Luka only had the "_Princess_"; because there is a law in the continent that says only those who are at least 21 years of age can obtain the titles "King" and "Queen".

"Ah, before I forget…" a maid handed Lily an envelope. The Queen checked the candle wax seal before handing it to Miku. "Please give this to Princess Luka. We would like to order more Garnet and Rosemary herbs from the Rose Kingdom." Even though the two kingdoms are located right next to each other, the Yellow Kingdom's soil cannot grow Rosemary, which is why they get their supply from the Rose Kingdom.

"Yes, your highness," Miku said as she kept the letter in her pocket. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that is all. You may take your leave," said Queen Lily. "Be careful on your way back."

Miku bowed once more before being escorted out by the guard. It wasn't her first time in the castle, so she was already familiar with the surroundings. Compared to the castle back in the Rose Kingdom, the Yellow Kingdom castle was actually smaller and less lavish; but this place was more cheerful and lively.

When she was eventually led to the stable where the guests' horses are kept, she was met with a strange sight.

"Give that back, you stubborn animal!" a blond haired boy, who looked like he was the same age as Miku, was having a tug of war with her horse. "That's…not…yours! LET…GO…OF IT!" It seems like neither the horse nor the boy was keen on letting go of the hat that they were fighting over. If they kept it up, it'll eventually be ripped in two.

"Alexander!" Miku called to her chestnut horse. "Let go of that man's hat now!" The horse immediately obeyed at released the hat from his mouth. The boy, unprepared, was flung backwards by the force and landed on his butt. The hat landed just in front of Miku and the horse seemed to be laughing at the boy's misfortune. "That wasn't nice, Alexander." She picked up the hat and dusted it off before reaching out her hand to help the boy up. "I'm so sorry about that. My horse gets a bit too mischievous sometimes."

"Haha, it's perfectly alright," the boy grabbed Miku's hand and stood up, only towering her by an inch. The girl's heart nearly skipped a beat when the boy raised his head to face her. His spiky hair was tied into a small pony tail and his ocean blue eyes were mesmerizing. Miku absentmindedly handed the charming boy his hat. "Ew…" The girl snapped out of her daze when she realized that she handed him the side which the horse's drool stained.

"I-I'm really sorry!" she bowed her head, staying in that position as she tried to calm down her racing heart. She couldn't help it; even though the boy was wearing a servant's uniform, he was actually quite handsome and cute, and he had a charming voice to match.

"No, no!" the boy waved his hand. "Please don't bow like that, it makes me feel awkward. I was just a bit surprised that's all." Miku raised her head and met the boy's eyes once more; she suddenly felt heat rise up her cheeks as the boy looked at her curiously. The boy suddenly bent down to his knees and rose up immediately with something in his hand. "I think you dropped this."

In the boy's hand was a white envelope that was meant for Princess Luka. "Oh, thank you," she took the letter and placed it in her pocket once again. "I'm sorry for the trouble."

"You're a weird person," the boy joked. "You don't need to apologize so much, I'm already used to these things." The boy pointed at a fancy carriage with two horses using his thumb. "Every time I meet a new horse, they always seem to chew on my hat first. Makes me wonder what this hat is made of."

"Oh, I see," Miku laughed gently.

"I'm Len Kagamine by the way," the boy held out his right hand. "I'm one of Lady Miriam's servants."

"Nice to meet you," Miku took his hand and shook it. "I'm Miku Hatsune, a servant from the Rose Kingdom."

Len beamed a warm smile at her before releasing her hand. "By the way, are you alright? You seem to be getting redder and redder by the second. Are you sick or something?"

"I-I'm f-fine," Miku suddenly turned around, hiding her face from Len. She rubbed Alexander's fur for awhile before facing him again, making sure that she wasn't blushing anymore. "I-I have to get going, I have to get this letter delivered."

"Oh I see," Len watched Miku as she untied the rope and led her horse out the stable. "Have a nice day!" Len waved at her.

Miku smiled and waved back at him, leaving the castle grounds and going into town.

**...oooooooooo...**

It wasn't Miku's first time to visit the Yellow Country, but she also doesn't get many chances to go here, so she decided to wander around town for a little while before heading back to the castle. Miku was now in the market with her horse walking beside her; she decided to buy a few stuff to eat before heading back to the Rose Kingdom. Just as she was about to purchase a few apples, she spotted something unusual once again.

"Len?"

The yellow haired person turned at the sound of the name. "Weren't you in the castle awhile ago?" Miku asked as she walked closer. "…and why are you wearing a dress?"

The person just blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. "I think you're talking about my twin brother."

Miku looked at the person closer and realized that it really wasn't Len; it was a girl that closely resembled him. The blonde girl was wearing a maid uniform and she had the same eyes as Len. Her shoulder length hair wasn't tied into a pony tail like Len's, and there was a white ribbon on top of it.

"Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't realize…"

The girl just laughed it off. "We used to change clothes all the time back when we were kids, so people really would mistake us for each other. Heck, I might probably be Len right now." Miku raised an eyebrow at her, and her horse seemed to be doing the exact same thing. "Hahaha! I'm just kidding, I'm a girl really. You can touch my chest if you want proof. Looking at it is not good enough since Len tells me it looks as flat as an ironing board."

"Er…no thanks, I believe you," Miku backed away slightly, amazed at how bold this person was. Bonus points for the blonde for admitting that she had a flat chest without a hint of shame, something that Miku could never do.

"My name is Rin Kagamine, I work for Lady Miriam like my brother."

"I'm Miku Hatsune. I just came from the castle and met your brother there. My horse almost ate his hat…"

"Yup, that's my brother alright, always getting his hat chewed." The jolly little girl just laughed once more, but it was interrupted with a grumbling sound that came from the teal haired servant's stomach.

"I-I'm sorry you had to hear that." She couldn't count how many times she apologized today. Miku looked down at her stomach and blushed in embarrassment.

"You're funny you know that? I like you!" Rin suddenly declared. "Would you like to have some lunch with me? I know a great place to eat nearby."

"Aren't you busy?"

"I actually just finished my shopping," Rin held out a basket of fruits and vegetables. "They aren't expecting me back in the mansion in another hour, so it's perfectly alright. What about you, do you need to head back?"

"Well, not right away."

"Great, then let's get going!" without giving Miku a chance to object, Rin grabbed her hand without hesitation and dragged her towards a small café. Miku wasn't complaining though, because she just found two new friends.

**...oooooooooo...**

"_Princess! Where are you going?" the puzzled driver shouted when the 9 year old girl suddenly bolted out of the carriage._

"_STOP!" the little pinked haired girl ran over to a group of sailors who were surrounding something in a circle. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"_

_The men stepped aside when the little girl approached. Inside the circle was a 5 year old child on the ground, clutching her head protectively and cowering like a trapped mouse. "This is none of your business!" one of the sailors shouted at the princess. He was interrupted when another sailor nudged him in the ribs, calling him an ignorant idiot._

"_Do not talk to her that way you filthy sailor!" a butler who accompanied the 9 year old stepped out of the carriage. "Don't you know she's Luka Megurine, Princess of the Rose Country?"_

_Almost immediately, the sailors knelt on one knee and bowed to the pink haired child. "I apologize for my rudeness, your Highness. I didn't know…" said the sailor who yelled at her._

_Luka ignored the sailors and proceeded to the child who was surrounded earlier by the men. Her clothes were tattered, her body was covered in bruises and her teal hair was so short that it looked like it was sliced off with a blade. The young girl just sat there shivering and crying, curled into a protective ball. She flinched when Luka put a hand on her shoulders, she seemed so scared. "Why is she like this? What have you done to her? Answer me!" _

_By this time, a small crowd or passers-by already surrounded them to witness the scene. The sailors looked at each other before one of them finally answered. "She's a stowaway your highness. This is how we deal with them…"_

"_But she's just a small child!" the sailors flinched when Luka yelled at them. "She can't even fight back!" She took a deep breath to calm herself down and kneeled before the child, placing a hand on her head and patting it gently. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you anymore. I'll make sure of it."_

_The little girl finally raised her head up and opened her eyes which were swollen from crying. Luka looked at her with pity as the tears from her eyes ceased to stop falling. "Here…" Luka pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to the girl to dry her tears. When the girl hesitantly took it, Luka stood up and faced the sailors. "I'm taking her with me. I will not allow you to harm her any further!"_

"_Princess, are you sure?" the butler asked her, ignoring the gossiping whispers from the crowd. "If what the sailors said is true, then she's practically a criminal…"_

"_I'm sure there's an explanation for all this," Luka turned to the girl who was still on the ground, looking up at her nervously. "Do you have anywhere to go?" the younger girl shook her head sideways. "What about your family?" This time, the young girl let her head fall as tears continued flow out again, her hands tightening into fists. Looking at the poor girl almost made Luka want to cry, she looked so miserable. The princess held out her hand and helped her up; the young girl stumbled a few times before finally being able to stand up straight. "She is coming with us back to the castle, no question about it. I can't leave the poor thing here all alone."_

'_She's too kind for her own good sometimes…' The butler sighed; he knew there was no use arguing since that's the way the princess is. "Very well, your Majesty."_

_Luka held the girl's hand as she was escorted back to the carriage. She ignored the stares of the crowd, some were whispering in praise while others whispered in disapproval, jealous of the stowaway's luck. The butler helped the princess up the carriage, while the teal haired child just stood by the door, never taking her eyes off the ground until a small hand came into her view. "Don't worry, you're safe now." She looked up at the princess' radiant smiling face, her tears slowly stopped flowing. She shyly took Luka's hand and was pulled inside the carriage; the butler then closed the door and took his seat outside beside the driver._

_The young girl sat in silence across the princess as the carriage drove away. Luka cleared her throat and the girl immediately looked at her. "You don't need to be so tense. Just relax and enjoy the ride." The young girl just nodded in response. "So, what's your name?"_

_The girl clutched her clothes nervously before answering, "M-Miku…Miku Hatsune…"_

...

_THUD! THUD! THUD! BANG!_

"Huh? What?" Luka opened her eyes to the sound of loud crashing noises; she looked at the clock and it read 2:30, which meant that she had been napping for an hour. Her meetings with her subjects weren't supposed to end until 3:00. She had 3 audiences for today, but by the time the 4th subject came in, she dismissed him and any others who were after him, saying that she simply wasn't in the mood. As much as it displeased those who were in line, especially the peasants, they did not question her out of fear for their own lives.

Luka got up from the sofa she slept on and stretched a bit, trying to wake her body up. '_Why did I have a dream like that?' _

It was more of a recollection of the past than a dream. What most of the servants don't know is that 3 years ago wasn't the first time she met Miku. She has known the girl ever since she was a young child. But they were separated due to selfish and unfortunate circumstances. Before Luka was able to recall anymore memories, a series of soft thuds interrupted her thoughts.

"What the heck was that?" she got up and out of her room to find the source of the noise that disturbed her sleep.

_Thud_

Luka looked to her right and saw the door to Miku's room, the sound was coming from inside. Her heart suddenly beat a little faster as she opened the door to her servant's room. "Miku?"

No answer.

She fully opened the door and went inside, and the first thing she saw was a mountain of books on the floor. The upper half of Miku's bookshelf was empty, except for one book, which finally fell on top of the pile. "Miku, where are you?" Luka had a very strong feeling she knew where Miku was, and it was confirmed when a familiar hand suddenly popped out of the pile. "Oh my god!" The older girl rushed to the mess and dug around the books until she saw her servant's face. She grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the mountain of books. "Are you alright?"

Miku pulled her foot out of the pile and dusted off her clothes. "I'm fine, Luka. I just got into a little accident."

"Geez, don't scare me like that…" Luka sighed. "What happened anyway?"

"I needed to return a book on the top shelf, but I lost my balance on the ladder. When it started falling back, I accidentally grabbed a few books, so they fell down." Miku still couldn't comprehend how all the books on the upper shelf fell when she only grabbed a few.

"And just why did you have to return it to the top shelf of all places?"

"W-well…it was arranged alphabetically and I didn't want to mess the order up."

"But now you have to re-alphabetize all the books that fell," Luka laughed in amusement at her servant, who groaned in response. "But seriously, are you alright? No injuries or anything?"

"Well, I fell on my back but…"

"Do you need me to call the nurse? Any broken bones?"

"Relax Luka. It just hurt for a short while, but I'm fine now," Miku rolled her eyes. Her Princess could be so over-reactive at times.

"Oh yeah? Then what is that?" Luka pointed to the back of Miku's hand. There was a long cut, but it wasn't deep and it hardly bled.

"This? It's just a paper cut. I can barely feel it, nothing to get worked up over." Miku shrugged it off, but Luka didn't seem convinced. "L-Luka? What are you doing?"

The Princess took Miku's hand in a second and bought the cut to her lips, gently kissing it. She let her lips linger on the wound for awhile before she finally pulled back. "There, now it's all better," Luka looked up to her servant's face, which was now as red as a tomato. It turned impossibly redder when Luka grinned at her mischievously. "You want me to kiss it some more?"

"N-no! I'm f-fine! It doesn't hurt anymore!" Miku immediately took back her hand and stared at the floor embarrassedly. Luka burst into laughter upon seeing her servant's reaction. "S-stop laughing already!"

"Hahaha! I can't help it! You're so cute when you blush and get embarrassed like that!" Luka would've pinched Miku's cheeks if she weren't laughing so hard. It was official; all the blood in Miku's body has transferred to her face. The servant stood up slowly and began picking up the books, leaving Luka on the ground to pull herself together. While on the floor, a book caught Luka's attention. It was open on a page with a picture of a sunset and a beach on it.

"I want to go to the beach," Luka declared suddenly.

"Now?" Miku gave her a questioning look as she stacked a few books on the table.

"Yes, now…Well, maybe not now, but definitely today. I want to see the sun setting on the ocean."

"You're not in the mood to have a fancy dinner with Queen Lily, but you're in the mood to go to the beach?"

"Yup. Got a problem with that?" Luka crossed her arms.

"Nope. I just think you're weird," Miku said, earning a glare from the older girl. Luka got a piece of paper on the floor and threw it at Miku, but it just floated wildly. "Crumple it to a ball next time," Miku stuck out her tongue and Luka pouted in response.

The pink haired girl stared at the picture before Miku took it. "After seeing that picture and having that dream earlier, I just suddenly felt like going to the beach."

"Really? What was your dream all about?"

"When I first met you," Luka said. The servant froze for a few seconds before facing the Princess.

"That was 11 years ago…" Miku said as she cleared the last of the books on the floor. Luka finally stood up from the floor and sat on Miku's bed as she watched her stack the books on the table. "What time would you like to leave?"

"Two hours after I finish my afternoon tea," Luka replied almost immediately.

Miku let out a small laugh because of the Princess' eagerness. "Very well. Just let me finish cleaning this up and I'll get right to your tea."

"That's gonna take forever, especially if you're still going to arrange it in order," Luka pouted and looked at the many books on Miku's table. "Hey you!" Luka called out to a servant that passed by the door, who happened to be Gumi. The green haired girl entered the room and bowed her head before the Princess. "Put these books back on the shelf and make sure it's in alphabetical order."

"Yes, your majesty," Gumi replied, immediately getting to work.

"Miku, I'll be waiting by the usual spot. I also want Earl Grey tea today," Luka ordered.

"Right away, Princess Luka," Miku answered with Luka promptly leaving the room afterwards. "I have to go, Gumi."

"Duh," Gumi replied as she playfully stuck out her tongue at Miku. "You go on ahead; I'll have this fixed in no time."

She thanked and waved at Gumi before leaving the room to prepare her majesty's afternoon snack.

**...oooooooooo...**

Luka and Miku arrived at the beach just in time to see the sun setting. They rode a carriage to the neighboring port town, which was a sovereign trade area located between the Rose and Yellow Kingdom. Visiting the town with Luka bought back memories for Miku because this was where she was found by the princess.

Miku actually came from another continent, which explained her unusual teal hair. When she was 5 years old, she lived in a tiny village before it was raided and destroyed by thieves. Most of the villagers were killed and the remaining ones were captured, including her. When she was being transported to be sold in the slave market along with the others, she managed to escape. Miku ran and hid from her captors until she ended up hiding in one of the empty wooden boxes by the pier. She accidentally fell asleep while waiting for her captors to go away, but by the time she woke up, she was already at sea. Miku remembered staying on the boat for a week, stealing food and water when everyone was asleep.

When the boat came to a halt, she decided to hide until the coast was clear, so that she could get out of the ship; but unfortunately, one of the sailors spotted her. Miku was bought before the other sailors who promptly started beating her up for illegally riding the ship. She didn't know how long she was being beat up, but what she remembered was the strong and assuring voice that ordered the men to stop.

It was there that she met Luka, the only one who dared face the muscular sailors. Miku considered herself to be the luckiest girl that day, because Luka bought her to the castle without hesitation. The King and Queen were doubtful at first when she was bought before them; but when Luka explained to her parents what happened and when the young Miku narrated her story, Luka's mother felt pity towards the girl, so she allowed her to stay. The logical and practical King only allowed Miku to stay if she agreed to be Luka's servant. Having nowhere else to go, the teal haired girl accepted the deal.

"Hey, you've been staring at the same spot for quite a while now," Miku suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when Luka waved her hand in front of her face. "What are you thinking of?"

"Oh, just thinking about how lucky I am," Miku replied with a warm smile. Luka returned her smile and started at the horizon on the beach. Both Miku and her were standing barefooted on the warm sand and their shoes were just by the carriage. Luka watched curiously as Miku waded into the sea, the water stopping a few inches below her dress. Miku took out a small bottle with a paper in it and set it adrift in the water.

"What are you doing?" Luka waded next to her servant, raising her longer dress so that it doesn't get wet.

"There's a legend that's been passed down for generations in our old village," Miku started as the bottle drifted away. "If you want to make a wish, write it in a paper and send it out to sea in a bottle. If the bottle doesn't break, the wish will definitely come true."

"Oh?" Luka looked curiously. "That's interesting."

"I already sent out three bottles when I first arrived in this continent, including this one. So I hope my third wish gets granted."

"What were your first two wishes?" Luka asked the younger girl.

Miku just smiled and turned her head to the sun. "I wished that I could meet you again." Luka gave her a surprised look, but Miku continued looking forward. "I sent it out a few days after they took me away from the castle. I'm really glad the wish came true."

"So am I," Luka said quietly. They stood in peaceful silence for a few minutes before the Princess asked another question. "So what was your second wish?" Luka didn't miss the blush that crawled up Miku's face, so this made her even more curious. "Well, what is it?"

Miku fidgeted a few seconds before finally answering. "I-I…I wished that my c-chest would grow bigger…" Luka blinked for a few seconds before laughing out loudly; they were the only ones on the beach, so Luka didn't draw any attention other than Miku's and the carriage driver's.

"You probably got jealous of mine," Luka teased the younger girl. Miku couldn't help but blush when she looked at her master; unlike her, Luka's chest was huge…and so soft-looking. The servant shook her head furiously, trying to get those thoughts out of her head before they went any further, earning her another round of laughter from the pink haired woman.

"B-but I guess the bottle broke," Miku interrupted before she could embarrass herself any further. "So my second with wasn't granted."

"I see…" Luka ended with a soft laugh. "…and your third wish?"

"That's a secret," Miku answered. "If I tell you the wish now, it might not get granted."

"No fair," Luka pouted, this time Miku was the one laughing.

"Would you like to try it?"

Luka thought for a second before huffing and crossing her arms. "I don't need to do such silly things for my wishes to be granted." Miku didn't answer back; she just sighed and looked at the waves that were softly crashing on her legs. "I mean…" Miku turned to Luka, who was gazing at the sea with a peaceful expression. "…I have you to grant all my wishes, right?"

Miku's eyes widened at Luka's sincere words. This time, the servant smiled genuinely as they both watched the bottle disappear in the horizon.

**...**

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**Wow, this is pretty long (well, compared to the other chapters at least), so I hope you guys enjoyed it. **

**It looks like we're seeing more and more elements from the Story of Evil in this fic XD. And about Luka and Miku's past…well, there's more to be revealed in the following chapters, so I hope you guys stick around and continue reading. :D**


	4. Disobedience and Pride

**Thanks to all the reviewers who reviewed the story! Here's chapter 4! ^_^**

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**Chapter IV: Disobedience and Pride**

**...**

"_P-Princess…are you sure this is the right way?" the girl tightened her grip on her master's hand. They've been wandering in the woods for more than 2 hours and it's getting dark. _

"_Of course I'm sure, Miku!" It was a lie; she was just relying on luck right now. If she started panicking, her 8 year old servant would definitely cry. 'Come on Luka, you can do this. Remember what father and mother said, never show weakness and always remain confident, otherwise the people following you will also fall.' _

_She took a deep breath and guided Miku around the trees and rocks; they continued walking until they arrived at a huge lake…for the 6th time this day._

"_Not again…" Miku blamed herself for being a pushover. Luka never went to the forest before because she was forbidden to, but that only piqued her curiosity. It didn't help that the storybooks she read described the forest as a magical place. Today was the day Luka was determined to go see them, so she convinced her young servant to help sneak her out of the castle. Naturally, Miku refused, saying that it was dangerous and full of wild animals, but Luka kept insisting until she was ordered to bring her there, something that the princess hadn't thought of earlier. Because it was an order, she couldn't refuse because she was trained to never disobey an order from Luka._

_The visit to the forest was fun at first; rabbits, squirrels, deer, and birds being the only wild animals they ran into. The pair wandered far into the woods until they reached a large blue lake, and Luka thought that it was the most beautiful sight that she had ever seen. The water was so clear that they could see all kinds of fishes swimming around and a few harmless animals also stopped by to take a drink. The two played around for a while until Miku finally convinced Luka that it's time to leave, because it might have been long enough for everyone to find out that they were missing. _

_That was when everything went downhill. The forest seemed to be playing a trick on them because they ended up in the same place no matter where they went. They both had to be careful because if they took a wrong turn, they might end up further away from civilization. They've been walking for hours and their feet are starting to kill them._

"_Let's take a break," Luka sat down on the grass and Miku followed. The princess sighed and looked at the lake, which was reflecting the moon. There was still some light, but it's only a matter of time before the sky turns black. Miku sat beside the young princess, hugging her knees and looking worried. "Come on, Miku. Don't look so glum! I'm sure some one will find us eventually. Let's just stay here and wait for help to arrive."_

_That didn't make Miku any less worried, because the more harmful animals are usually active at night. The pair turned around when they heard leaves rustling behind them._

"_Hey, looks like someone found us!" Luka stood up, but Miku grabbed her hand and immediately pulled her back. The rustling was too loud for small animals to make, and there was a lack of human voices. _

_Miku's worst nightmare came true when a large black bear slowly emerged from the bushes. Luka immediately let her mask of confidence fall, this definitely wasn't a situation where one can simply keep calm. The two backed away slowly as the hungry looking bear drew closer, but the girls stopped when they realized that they would fall in the lake if they backed up any further. _

_They were now trapped. Luka couldn't swim and Miku wasn't strong or fast enough to swim away from the bear while carrying the older girl; so Miku did the only thing she could think of: face the bear and stand in front of Luka with her arms spread out protectively._

"_D-don't come any closer…" the servant wasn't convincing anyone; she was visibly trembling, her voice was shaky, and her eyes were starting to water. Miku slowly picked up a pebble and threw it at the bear, hoping that it would scare it away, but it only did the opposite. The bear was now growling and baring their teeth at the girls. _

_When the bear charged towards the girls, Miku braced for impact, but instead of a sharp pain, she felt something else. _

"_Princess?" Luka bravely pushed the teal haired girl aside; however, the princess couldn't land away fast enough, so the bear was able to graze her arm, ripping her sleeve and leaving deep claw marks. "PRINCESS LUKA!" As soon as the princess landed roughly, Miku rushed to her side. "PRINCESS! Are you alright?"_

_What a stupid question, Miku knew she wasn't going to be alright; her arm was bleeding and they didn't have anything to protect them. Pretty soon the bear was going to have the both of them for dinner. "Miku…run away…" Luka clutched her bleeding arm tightly as she lay on the ground. "I'll distract it…so get away while you still can…"_

"_NO!" Miku shielded the older girl's body protectively, tears were now falling from her eyes. "I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE!"_

_Before Luka could argue any further, she froze when she spotted a glint on the bear's eyes as it stared at her hungrily. Without warning, the bear charged with its mouths wide open, armed with razor sharp teeth that were ready to rip the girls to shreds._

…

Luka's eyes shot wide open and she sat up suddenly, her face was covered in cold sweat and her heart was beating rapidly. When she looked around, she saw that she was safe in her room under the covers of her blanket. It was just a nightmare.

She glanced at her arm and spotted a scar, but it was barely noticeable; one had to look really closely to actually see it. The scar was a reminder of her past mis-adventure in the forest with Miku. They were in serious danger; when the bear was about to lunge for Miku's neck, Leon miraculously arrived and killed it just in time. When they got back to the castle, Luka's parents were furious; more so when they saw the wound on their daughter's arm. They got mad at the both of them, but Miku took most of the brunt of their anger. Her parents refused to listen even though the young princess insisted that it was her fault for not listening to Miku.

"Tch…stupid nightmare…" Luka roughly pulled the blanket over her head to go back to sleep. But after a few shifts and turns later, she was unable to return to dreamland. The frustrated princess sat up and checked the clock, which read 2:37. For the next 30 minutes, she did everything she could to fall back to sleep, but none of the positions she lied in worked, so it was time for plan B.

Luka scooted over to the right side of her bed, where a rope dangled from a small hole in the wall. She pulled on in a couple of times and waited on the bed for something to happen. In no less than a minute, she heard her door unlock and open, and her sleepy sixteen year old servant entered. Yes, the rope that Luka pulled was actually connected to a bell located in Miku's room. Whether it was day or night…or very early morning, the servant would come to her master's room if the bell is rung.

"Did you need something, Luka?" Miku yawned sleepily as she tightened the loose rope on her night robe. Her hair was always tied into twin tails, but now it flowed freely behind her head like a soft veil.

"I had a nightmare and I can't go back to sleep…"

"Would you like to tell me what it was all about?" Miku yawned and pulled and sat on the side of Luka's bed.

The princess shook her head and gently lowered it on the pillow; she didn't want to remind Miku of that incident because of what happened afterwards. "Can you sing for me until I fall asleep?"

Miku smiled and nodded her head, "Sure, what would you like me to sing?"

"I don't know…whatever you want. You choose." Luka waited in anticipation, she always loved it when her servant sings. Miku thought for a minute before she took a deep breath and let the song flow out of her mouth.

"_~In this room, there is only you and me_

_As we continue singing this song together._

_Not knowing anything of the outside world is fine_

_If this is what you wish…~"_

Miku's voice was just as breath taking as Luka's own. Whenever she sang, her voice was full of tenderness and it flowed like a river. Anyone who would get an opportunity to hear her voice would stop what they're doing just to listen to her sing sweet melodies and lyrics.

"_~…Lu Li La, Lu Li La, I sing_

_To the outside world won't hear me._

_I sing only for you,_

_This is my wish…~"_

Luka's eyes gradually grew heavier, relaxing by the second as Miku continued to sing. Miku's voice always had an enchanting and mesmerising feel to it. The princess knew that she couldn't have asked for a better servant.

When Miku finished singing the last lines, Luka was fast asleep with a serene expression on her face. She smiled and pulled the covers over Luka's body. "Good night, my princess…" Miku stood up and silently left the room, leaving Luka to her peaceful slumber.

**...oooooooooo...**

"You don't look so good, didn't get enough sleep?" Kaito was good at observing things, a skill that he acquired as a gardener, so he could notice things that most people can't, like the faint wrinkles under Miku's eyes.

"Took me more than an hour to go back to sleep after the princess woke me up," Miku drank the last of the coffee that Teto made. The kitchen was busy as usual and the only ones at the table were Kaito, Miku, and two other servants who were on break. "Anyway, I've got to go now; the princess might be looking for me."

Miku made haste towards Luka's office; it was one of those days where she was in a particularly bad mood. She had a nightmare and couldn't sleep until Miku sang to her, she accidentally fell out of bed when she was being woken up, she got shampoo in her eyes, she inadvertently stubbed her foot on the table, and she has a mountain of documents to approve and reject. Because she cancelled all of her meetings yesterday, she now had twice as much people to meet today.

Luka did more snapping than talking throughout the entire morning that even Miku was afraid. Two servants have already been sent to the dungeon because of a few simple mistakes. Fortunately, she seems to have lightened up a little by the time lunch came around. It was wise of Miku to have the chefs prepare tuna for lunch to calm the princess's nerves.

When Miku was headed over to Luka's office, but she almost bumped into Kiyoteru who was carrying a few stacks of papers. "Er, so how's the princess doing?"

"Less cranky than this morning, but still cranky…" Kiyoteru was just about to hand the princess some more documents, but when he took a peek at her office, he saw that most of the documents were in the "reject" pile; what's worse was she was emitting a demonic aura around her. He decided not to put anymore papers in her table, partly because he knew it will surely be rejected, but mostly because he wanted to keep his head. "Anyway, you better get in there and stay there; she'll be in a way better mood once you're around."

"Will do," Miku sighed and entered the princess's office. Luka's face was set into a scowl, but it gradually melted off as time passed by. It was amazing that Miku's presence was able to turn Luka's mood around, and thus many servants wondered what kind of magic the teal haired girl cast on the princess. Miku stood by silently and helped organize the mess while the princess read, signed, and crumpled papers. When it was already 12 noon, the town bell rang.

"Finally, I'm starving!" Luka crumpled the paper she rejected and tossed it aside, which landed right next to the servant. Miku sighed and placed the crumpled paper in the trash and followed the princess out the office.

Miku escorted Luka to the dinning hall while the maids rushed in to serve her food. The teal haired servant felt relieved when the platter of tuna was carried in, because Luka's eyes sparkled at the mouth watering dish that was placed before her. Now that her favorite dish was in front of her, Miku and the other servants knew that the princess will be in a good mood for the rest of the day.

"Princess Luka, may I be excused? I just need to go to the restroom for a while."

"Yeah sure, just hurry back," Luka dug a fork in the tuna and put it in her mouth, her expression was pure bliss. "You haven't eaten lunch yet right?"

"No, not yet…"

"Well then, I'll be sure to leave some for you when I'm done. The tuna has bits of leeks, so I'm sure you'll love it."

Now it was Miku's mouth that was watering; she had to admit, the dish looked pretty good and it was too tempting to resist. "Thank you. I'll be back in a minute."

Miku walked out of the dinning room rather happily, making Luka giggle softly; everyone knew that Miku loves leeks as much as Luka loves her tuna.

"My, you look happier this afternoon, what's up?" Gumi met Miku in the hallway while carrying a pitcher of water. Miku was practically skipping down the hallway with a goofy looking smile and a blush on her face.

"Ah it's nothing much. The princess is finally in a good mood and I get to eat some of that tuna dish with leeks on it."

"Wow, you sure are lucky. The princess never shares anything, especially not her beloved tuna."

"Yep, I sure am."

"I'm so jealous," the green haired girl joked. "I wish I could switch places with you at least once. It would be a nice change not to be treated like dirt for once."

"Well, it's not always so good," Miku responded. "I mean…you have to wake her up every single morning." Gumi cringed when Miku mentioned that; she remembers the time Miku got a black eye because Luka accidentally punched her when she got too close. "You better get going…the princess might be getting thirsty."

"Oh you're right," Gumi suddenly remembered as she hurried to the dinning room. "See ya later, Miku!"

Miku only stayed in the restroom for a minute, but as she was washing her hands, what she heard next made her jump out of her skin.

"YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Miku recognized that voice. "LUKA!" she immediately closed the faucet and rushed down the halls to the dining room, passing by servants who seemed to be frozen in place.

"PRINCESS! Are you alright?" she slammed the door open and rushed in, but she stopped as soon as she entered. Luka was fine, but she seemed angrier than she was this morning, and Miku could see why. Part of her dress was drenched in ice cold water, and on the floor was Gumi, shivering in fright next to a broken glass pitcher. _'…No…'_

"YOU INSOLENT DOG!" Luka stood up and kicked the green haired maid on the face, sending her to the ground. "HOW DARE YOU POUR WATER ON ME, YOU FESTERING MAGGOT!"

Gumi recovered and bowed before the furious girl's feet with her head touching the ground. "I-I'm so sorry, your majesty! I-I…I didn't mean it, I just tripped by accident! Please forgive me, I really didn't mean for i…"

"SILENCE!" everyone winced when Luka's voice echoed angrily throughout the room. She kicked the girl on the ground once more, causing her hand to land in one of the broken pieces of glass. "Guards, bring this useless girl to the torture chamber and guillotine her tomorrow!"

"No…please…" Gumi clutched her bleeding palm, but it was useless to beg. Two guards already had her by the arms, ready to drag her away.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned their heads to the source of the voice. Who had the courage to defy the princess's orders?

The room grew silent when all eyes fell on the teal haired girl who demanded her princess to stop.

"M-Miku?" this was the first time Luka had ever stuttered in public. She watched in disbelief as Miku ran to the fallen girl.

"Please, Princess Luka", Miku said as she helped the crying Gumi sit up. "It was just a tiny mistake; please don't send her to the guillotine."

Hushed whispers soon flew around the room when Miku finished. This was the first time the girl ever objected to something that Luka said. "Miku…what are you doing?" the princess slowly approached the two girls, her gaze growing harsher by the second.

"Please spare her, Princess Luka. I'm begging you; she's a close friend of mine…" Miku bowed before the pink haired girl and begged.

By this time, Kiyoteru and a number of servants hid by the door to witness the scene. The servants in the room didn't dare make a single move as Luka clenched her fist even tighter. "Miku…tell me you are joking. If you are, I'll let this slide…"

Luka was answered with a few seconds of silence from the girl before her. "Please, Luka…"

"Miku. I order you to move away. Now!"

"It's just spilt water princess, there wasn't any harm done!" Miku's hand immediately darted to her mouth upon realization of what she had done. Not only did she disobey Luka, but she also raised her voice at her…in front of other people. In Miku's panicked state, she did not realize the words that were coming out of her mouth. She was Luka's most trusted servant, and her defiance was a blow to the princess' pride.

One minute. Two minutes. Neither party continued to speak as the atmosphere grew tenser by the second.

"Are you saying…that you would choose her…over me?"

Miku held her breath and her hands formed into fists. She was so confused and it tore her heart to choose between two people who were important to her. Gumi was her close friend, and without her, she wouldn't have gotten to know so many wonderful people like Kaito and Teto. She was her first friend when she started working at the castle again 3 years ago. When people started talking behind Miku's back as soon as she became Luka's personal servant, Gumi was the one who defended her and cleared up those bad rumors. If Gumi didn't help her out, she would've been a social outcast among the servants in the castle.

Miku blinked once to stop tears from forming in her eyes and breathed deeply to calm herself down. Gumi was like her sister, but she knew where her loyalties lie. As much as it hurt her to betray Gumi, Luka would always come first before anything else, no question about it. She owed Luka her life, she was trained to follow Luka's every command ever since she was taken in, and she was the only person Luka deeply cared for. She couldn't betray her trust. If her heart had to be broken to a million pieces just for Luka to be satisfied, then so be it.

"Luka, I…"

"Guards!" Miku hadn't realized that she stayed silent for more that 3 minutes, and to Luka, it was already an act of betrayal. "Take them to the dungeon now!" Miku's eyes widened and everyone gasped in surprise, even the guards.

"…B-both Miku and Gumi, your highness?" Kiyoteru asked in a meek voice.

"Yes both of them! Didn't you hear what I said? Take them to the dungeon and lock them up!" Luka then glared from Miku to Kiyoteru. "…unless you want to join them, Kiyoteru…"

"…" Kiyoteru gulped audibly. He lowered his head and his glasses hid his sorry eyes. "…No ma'am…"

"Hmph," Luka crossed her hands and glared down at the two girls, fury and disappointment were clear in her eyes.

"Wait Luka! I can explain, I…" Miku tried to tell her that she will follow her orders, but Luka was too enraged to listen to her.

"Enough! Guards! I said take them to the dungeon NOW!"

"Luka! Please listen t…"

"**SILENCE!"** when Luka's voice boomed throughout the entire palace, it was like she froze time itself. It was so loud and frightening that even the horses in the stable cowered in fear; it was like her whole malevolent aura engulfed the entire castle. No one has ever seen the princess this mad before. **"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK ANOTHER WORD! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"**

Miku's eyes widened and she held her breath. She gulped and nodded weakly, keeping her gaze on the ground. '_Please, Luka…please…just listen to me for five seconds…'_

"No one defies me! NO ONE!" Luka's voice lessened in volume, but it was still coated with deadly venom. "…not even you, Miku…"

Miku stayed silent and immobile as all eyes were fixed upon her, even Gumi. They couldn't believe she was being sent to the dungeon, it was almost impossible to think of.

"Away with them!" with a wave of her hand, the guards immediately grabbed the girls and forced them to stand up. When Miku's head rose to meet Luka's, the latter's eyes widened. Miku's eyes were full of hurt; it was like that of a puppy that has been abandoned by its owner. The princess glanced at her eyes one last time before she was turned around and led to the dungeon along with Gumi.

When the two girls were led out of the room, everyone remained in their places, even Luka. The heavy atmosphere didn't let up even just a little.

After a few seconds, Luka clenched her shaking hands and let out a frustrated yell that once again sent shivers up everyone's spines. "I'm going to go get changed! Clean up the mess by the time I get back, otherwise EVERYONE in this room will follow after them!"

Upon her words, the maids immediately rushed to the mess, sweeping the glass and drying the cloths. The princess angrily stomped out of the dinning room to change with her mind still on Miku.

The more she thought about Miku's hurt face, the heavier her stomps got. Luka was furious at her; but what she didn't want to admit, even to herself, was that deep down…she was really angry at what she had to do.

**...oooooooooo...**

Everyone in the dungeon rushed to their cell's iron bars to witness what the commotion was all about, but their reactions were all the same. The prisoners, and even the guards, gasped in shock when they saw a teal haired girl walking down the narrow path that led deeper into the dungeon.

"No way, is that the princess's dog?"

"Is this a joke or something?"

"Heh, so the princess is cruel enough to even send her own pet to the dungeon."

"Miku, what the heck are you doing here? Miku? Miku?"

"She's probably here just to inspect the prisoners, there's no way in hell she would be sent here…"

"Is this what that noise was all about?"

"Who is that? Why is everyone making a big deal out of her?"

"Oh no, Miku…not you too…"

"This is impossible! Unthinkable! Is the world really about to end?"

"I guess it's true…the Daughter of Evil spares no one…even her…"

Criminals, innocents civilians, fellow servants…Miku ignored all of them as she walked silently with her head drooped down. Her mind was blank and she felt numb; was she really just disposable garbage like everyone else?

The girls arrived at two empty cells that were smaller than Miku's bed; Gumi occupied one of the empty cells while Miku took the one across it. As soon as the guards closed the cell doors, more noise bounced around the dungeon as the prisoners gossiped among themselves. It took quite a while for the guards to quiet everyone down; in the meantime, Miku was oblivious to it all as she sat shakily on the hard and flimsy bed.

"Miku…Miku?" the teal haired servant weakly turned her head at Gumi. "Are you alright?"

"…No…no I'm not…" Miku stared at her blankly and then back to the cold stone wall.

This time, tears flowed down Gumi's eyes as she fell to her knees, clutching the iron bars tightly. "I'm so sorry, Miku. This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for me. I'm so sorry…" Miku wanted to smile and tell her that she didn't need to apologize, but she was too sad and shaken to even make a single expression on her face. She felt even more depressed as she watched the usually cheerful Gumi breakdown and cry. "Miku…am I going to die?"

"…I'm sorry, Gumi…I don't know. I really don't…" The girl shifted her gaze from the wall to the grey floors.

Gumi tried to calm down and stop her tears from flowing, but she really had a hard time while seeing Miku in this state. The princess' servant was a cheerful person; she gets sad sometimes, but this was the first time she saw her so depressed. She looked weak and vulnerable, like a fragile glass that could break with the slightest touch. She wanted to help, even if it was just a little. "Miku…is there anything I can do for you?"

"I don't feel like talking, Gumi. I'm sorry, can you just leave me alone for a while…?" the girl lied on the bed and turned to the side facing the wall.

"…alright…" Gumi didn't take any offense in this; she understood that Miku needed time alone to think. Gumi copied Miku and lied down on her own bed and stared at the ceiling as more tears continued to flow afterwards.

Miku on the other hand continued looking at the wall; now that she was lying down, her body felt so heavy that she didn't think she could move. Her mind was in chaos, but the most frequent thing that came to mind was none other than the princess. _'Luka…'_

She didn't want to deal with this, so she simply curled up and closed her eyes. A single tear was shed as Miku waited for sleep to take her away from this nightmare.

'_Luka…I'm so sorry…'_

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**We've seen Luka's spoiled and gentle side, but now we finally get to see her cruel side. I mean, she's always alone with Miku, so we barely see Luka in "Daughter of Evil" mode! XD**

**The song that Miku sang is "Minature Garden Girl"/"Hakoniwa no Shoujo", the 2nd song of mothy's (Akuno-P) Clockwork Lullaby series. Yeah, I bet the Lu Li La totally gave it away, lol. I also put in a little "Moonlit Bear" and "Twilight Prank" reference in the first flashback sequence. **

**Reviews make me happy \(^.^)/ **

**Next chapter will be up by next week hopefully.**


	5. Painful Memories

**Here's the 5th chapter. I want thank all the reviewers who reviewed the story! Yey! \(^_^)/**

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**Chapter V: Painful Memories**

**...**

_CRASH!_

Kiyoteru jerked in surprise when Luka threw a teacup to the floor, breaking it into tiny pieces. "Is there something wrong, your highness?"

"It's not the same…" Luka grabbed the empty tray and tossed it to the ground.

_CLANG!_

"…Y-your highness?" the head butler winced when she hurled the teacup saucer to her side. She was in an even worse mood now ever since she had Miku sent to the dungeon a couple of hours ago.

"I said it's not the same!" Luka grabbed the teapot and threw it at Kiyoteru, who was able to dodge it. "Get back to the kitchen and tell those stupid chefs to make my tea properly! Otherwise I'll have their heads and yours! And tell them to clean this mess up!"

"R-right away, your highness," Kiyoteru grabbed the silver tray and rushed out of the library balcony. He thought that he would probably die due to stress even before the princess sends him to the guillotine.

Alone on the balcony, Luka sighed as she bit down on her cookie like she was biting someone's head off. Afternoon tea wasn't the same without Miku around. "ARRRRGHHH!" She shook her head violently before crushing the cookie in her hand. Ever since she sent her beloved servant to the dungeon, she couldn't think straight. Heck, she couldn't even remember what she said or did during her audiences. It was evident that her head was floating elsewhere.

'Get a grip, Megurine!' she grabbed several cookies and chewed them to death. No one was around at the moment, so she didn't have to mind her manners.

No one was around.

She was all alone.

The pink haired girl swallowed the crushed cookies in her mouth and reached for her tea, but her eye twitched in frustration when she remembered that she threw her drinks on the ground. Luka sighed rubbed her creased eyebrows. This was going to be a long day.

**...oooooooooo...**

"Miku? Miku?" a male voice called out. "Wake up, Miku."

The servant woke up hours ago, but she chose to keep her eyes closed the entire time. She finally opened them when she recognized the voice. "Ted?"

"Come, the princess is calling you," the red haired guard unlocked the cell door as Miku sat up from the bed. Ted Kasane was the new Captain of the Royal Guards after Leon, and he was also Teto's younger brother. They knew each other personally, but Miku wasn't as close to him as she was with Teto.

"W-why?" Miku's eyes widened, it was the first sign of emotion she has shown ever since she got locked up.

Ted just shrugged his shoulders and held the door open for the girl. There was a plate of untouched food next to her cell door and Gumi was fast asleep on the prison bed. As she was being escorted out, she noticed that the prisoners were exchanging amused whispers among themselves. She sighed and continued walking; all of them were whispering the same question: What was going to happen to Miku now?

Miku had to adjust her eyes when she was out of the dungeon because it was dark and gloomy. As she followed Ted down the halls, she looked out the window and saw that it was already night time. Servants stopped and looked at her in surprise when she passed by. So many impossible things have been happening today that even the servants were getting confused; Miku was sent to the dungeon when nobody expected it, and now she was out again. It was very rare for a prisoner to enter a dungeon and leave unscratched.

Luka was currently in the library, and what seemed to be several minutes of walking was actually only a few seconds. The two of them arrived outside the library to see Kiyoteru by the doorway looking visibly anxious. However, his face lit up a bit once he spotted the servant girl. "Thank goodness you're here. The princess has been waiting."

The servant girl slowly stepped inside the library and saw the princess facing the window. Kiyoteru and Ted closed the door and left the two girls alone.

Miku approached the princess nervously and stopped a few feet away from her. She gulped silently before kneeling on one knee and bowing before Luka. It reminded the young girl of the day they reunited 3 years ago, the picture was almost the same.

The pink haired princess knew she was there, but she chose to remain silent, staring at the night sky for a few more minutes.

"Why?" Luka finally spoke after what seemed to be an eternity. Miku knelt behind her motionlessly, unsure of what to say. "I order you to speak!"

"…I," Miku took a silent but deep breath and closed her eyes. "I apologize for my earlier behavior, your Majesty. Please forgive me, it won't happen again."

Luka's eye twitched for the 100th time today; Miku only called her "your Majesty" or "your Highness" whenever she was feeling upset, sorry, distant, or all of the above. She doesn't even use those titles in public; it was always "Princess".

The princess sighed and turned to face her servant. "Why did you disobey me?"

"I did not, your Majesty…" Miku answered with her voice devoid of emotion. A vein on Luka's forehead began throbbing, first she disobeyed her, and now she was lying and answering back.

"Then what the hell happened this afternoon?" Luka said through gritted teeth, it was the best she could do while trying to remain calm.

"It was a misunderstanding…"

"Explain. Now."

"I never intended to betray you, nor disobey your order," Miku stated as a matter of fact. "You sent me to the dungeon without hearing me out…" Luka's eyes widened in surprise; she tried to remember the events this afternoon and only realized now that Miku was right. She was already in a bad mood this morning, and it didn't help when Miku defended Gumi, who doused her in cold water. She was so angry at her servant's actions that she didn't even bother to let her speak.

"I was not able to answer immediately because I was confused. Gumi is my friend, but…" the younger girl paused for a short while. "…if you wish to see her dead…then…so be it…"

Luka felt her blood boil at her own impulsive actions. She should've never questioned the girl's loyalty; she was a fool to have doubted her own trust on Miku.

"But my actions earlier were uncalled for…" Miku bowed her head even lower. "I'm so sorry I made you think that I betrayed you…"

Luka couldn't take it anymore; she grabbed a nearby book tossed it at a wall, putting all her anger and frustration in it. The lone servant flinched at the loud sound, but she remained still, prepared to accept any punishment. The princess took several deep breaths before she knelt in front of Miku, cupping her chin firmly in her hand and forcing the latter to look directly at her eyes. All traces of anger slowly disappeared when she saw her own cruel reflection on the girl's teal eyes. "Don't ever do that again, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

Luka roughly pulled away her hand and Miku lowered her head once more. The princess stood up and paced around while Miku remained in position. "That green haired maid…Gumi was it? She's forever banished from the Rose Kingdom. If she's not gone by three days, I'll have her tortured and executed as I originally intended. I trust you have no complaints?" Luka never apologized, and she wasn't going to start now. However, she did feel bad for rashly sending Miku to the dungeon, so to compensate, she'll allow Gumi to live.

"None, your Majesty," beneath Miku's bangs, her eyes shone in much relief. Next to torture and execution, banishment was already the lightest punishment one could give a prisoner.

"Good," the princess turned around and faced the window once more. "Well then, you are free to go have some dinner. I expect you to wake me up at the usual time tomorrow. You are dismissed."

"Yes, your Highness," her gesture and voice didn't show it, but Miku was actually quite happy now since Luka forgave her and Gumi was going to be alright. She stood up and silently walked to the door; but before she grabbed the knob, she stopped for a while and smiled at her master's back. "Thank you."

Luka continued facing the window as she heard Miku close the door. When Luka was all alone, she took another deep breath and closed her eyes, sighing contently. "Much better…"

**...oooooooooo...**

_DING! DONG! DING! _

_The 12 year old girl laughed happily as she braided her young servant's teal hair. "It's 3 o' clock, which means it's time for snacks!" The younger girl laughed in return as she played with something in her hands. "I'm done, Miku!" _

_The princess scooted back a bit to marvel at her work. She smiled, satisfied with her work, and proceeded to playfully hug Miku from behind. "You should grow your hair even more so that the braid will also be longer and prettier." It has been 3 years since Luka saved Miku from those sailors, now the latter's hair reached up to her knees. The young princess loved her silky and soft hair, so whenever she had the chance, she would fix it in different styles like braids, buns, or ponytails. But so far, Luka's favorite style were twintails on each side of Miku's head; she said that the style fit a sweet and gentle girl like her. "Hey Miku, what are you doing?"_

_Luka noticed that she'd been fiddling with something while she was braiding her hair. When Luka scooted around, Miku immediately hid the object. "Don't look! It's a surprise!"_

"_Awwww…I wanna see it now!"_

_Miku laughed at the princess's puppy dog face. "Just give me a minute, I'm almost done." Sure enough, Miku had finished in a short amount of time. "I braided the flowers and made them look like a crown! I made it just for you!" _

_Luka stared in awe at the object on Miku's hands; it was a crown made out of thornless white roses. "Wow, it's so pretty!" Miku smiled widely as she placed the crown on Luka's head. "It even fits perfectly! Thank you, Miku!"_

"_Hehe, I'm glad you like it," said Miku as she ran her hand down her braided hair. When she spotted a butterfly fluttering by, she stood up and playfully chased after it. Luka laughed at the sight and followed afterwards until they both ran into a lot of colored butterflies in the garden. "Hey princess, look!" Miku showed the girl a small butterfly that was perched on her hand. "It has the same color as your hair!"_

_Luka copied her servant and allowed a butterfly to crawl from her shoulder to her palm. "And this one has the same color as your hair and eyes!" The friends laugh light-heartedly as they released the two butterflies, which seemed to be twirling around each other in a dance. They continued to frolic with the butterflies until the creatures suddenly started to act strangely. They scattered in different directions, seemingly in a rush to get away._

_Before the two girls could ponder on why they were acting that way, several shadows approached them from behind. Luka turned around in excitement, hoping that it was their snacks, but her smile was wiped off when she saw her parents and a few servants. "Mother, Father? Why are you all looking at us like that?"_

_Her mother looked away sadly, but the servants and King continued to look at the children with serious expressions. _

"_Luka…" the King cleared his throat before finally speaking. "It's about Miku. She…has to go…" _

_The children's eyes widened in surprise after hearing what the king said. Miku took a single step back while the princess stood in front of her protectively. "W-what do you mean father? Where is she going?"_

_The king shook his head slowly and sighed. He knew it was going to be hard to explain it to her daughter. "Miku can't be your servant anymore."_

"_Huh? I…I don't understand…" Luka voice shook with every word she said._

_The queen sighed and looked at the children with pitiful eyes. "I'm sorry dear, but Miku isn't fit to be a servant, especially at that age. That's why she'll be leaving the castle."_

"_I still don't understand! What going on?" Luka raised her voice, but not loud enough to be rude to her parents. "Miku belongs with us, right?"_

"_Luka," the king said in a stern voice. "Do you know how much trouble the both of you have gotten into ever since she became your servant?" The young princess gulped and took a guilty step back next to her shivering friend._

"_She threw cake at an important noble, she hit Prince Gakupo and made him cry, both of you got terribly sick when you played in the rain once, both of you made the castle horses stampede the other month, need I go on?" the children seemed to shrink in their place every time the king mentioned yet another incident. "And more recently, you two got lost in the forest and almost got eaten by a bear. A BEAR!"_

_Luka had a strong feeling it was related to what happened a week ago. Her parents tolerated their behavior, but the bear incident was the last straw. "It wasn't Miku's fault! All of those happened because I was being stubborn and insistent! Miku was just trying to protect me!"_

"_But she hasn't been doing a good job 'protecting' you, has she?" the king asked back. The teal haired child who remained silent sunk her head lower in shame. "If we don't draw the line here, then who knows what else could happen to the two of you."_

"_Father please, don't do this!" the young princess didn't care if her tone was disrespectful; she wasn't going to let them take Miku away._

"_You can't stay with each other, dear," her mother spoke. "Miku's just too weak and you're too overconfident and careless. It's risky to keep you two together." _

"_No! Please!" the older girl clutched her mother's dress and begged. "Please don't take her away. I promise I'll behave! I won't sneak out anymore or do reckless things!"_

"_I'm sorry, Luka," the king apologized. "But this is the decision we've come up with and nothing can change it."_

"_You can't kick her out of the castle! She has no where else to go! She doesn't have any family except us!" Luka felt her eyes stinging from her tears. Even her kind mother didn't side with her this time. Her father was a practical person who only decided what's best for everyone, but what they were doing now was a mistake._

"_She's not family," said the king. "She's an orphan and a servant. Servants will never be part of our family."_

"_YOU'RE WRONG! SHE IS PART OF OUR FAMILY!"_

"_Young lady, do not ever talk to me that way!" her father tolerated her attitude earlier, but this has gone on long enough. "Miku, it's time to go."_

"_I…I don't want to…" Miku squint her eyes shut as the princess hugged her tightly. "I promise I'll get better and stronger, your highness. Please…just give me another chance!"_

"_I'm sorry, Miku…it's too late for that. This is the best decision for both of you," with a snap of his finger, the older servants forcefully pulled the two children apart. It took a while before they finally managed to separate them _

"_PRINCESS! HELP ME!" A servant lifted Miku off her feet and started carrying her away. She was powerless to resist because the servant was too strong. "DON'T TAKE ME AWAY! PLEASE! I'M SORRY!"_

"_MIKU! NO!" Luka ran towards her friend, but she was stopped by several servants. "STOP! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY JUST FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH REASONS! GIVE HER BACK! NOW!"_

"_Likewise, you can't keep her for your own selfish reasons either. It's for your own good, eventually you will understand and thank us for this." the king looked at his daughter without a hint of regret. "We will get you a better and more capable servant; someone who can really protect and watch over you."_

"_I DON'T WANT ANOTHER SERVANT! I WANT MIKU!" the princess cried and kicked, but she couldn't break free from the servants' grasps. "LET ME GO! MIKU!"_

"_LUKA! LUKA!" the two friends reached their hands out to each other, but it was useless; they were being separated further apart as they helplessly cried each other's names over and over until they disappeared from each other's sight._

**...**

"Miku…don't go…" the pink haired princess squirmed around her bed uneasily. "Miku…Miku…" She rolled around for awhile until she suddenly opened her eyes, awake from the nightmare. "Miku!"

She sat up stiffly and stared at the darkness in her room as she continued breathing heavily. Luka clutched her head in an attempt to calm down, but when her hand made contact with her face, she noticed something wet flowing from her eyes. She shortly realized that she had been crying in her sleep, something that hasn't happened ever since Miku was taken away. She cringed at the memory and buried her head in her knees, waiting for her breathing and heartbeat to slow down.

Luka remembered that it was a rough year the time Miku left. She got a new personal servant named Al, but he was way different from Miku. He was strict and he watched the princess like a hawk, so she was unable to sneak out and play freely; she felt trapped like a butterfly in a net and it felt like she had no privacy anymore. In an attempt to make her forget about Miku, her parents gave her everything she wanted and had the servants grant her every wish; from the simplest things to the most ridiculous and outrageous things. However, Luka was never completely satisfied and she only kept asking for Miku, the only thing that she was denied of.

After a year, Luka finally gave up. She didn't know where Miku was, and even if she did find her, the king and queen would never allow her back. So Luka allowed herself to be indulged in luxuries, her attitude getting more spoiled and cruel by the day. Luka kept asking for more and more, but she was never completely satisfied. She drowned herself in every riches that she could acquire until she eventually forgot the reason why she was never pleased with the treasures she got.

The king and queen were so busy with political activities that they failed to watch over their daughter closely. They were oblivious to the fact that Luka's attitude was growing more rotten with each passing day. Her father eventually died from sickness and stress, and her mother soon followed a year after, leaving her to claim the throne for herself at the age of 16. That was the start of the suffering of the Rose Kingdom's people. Luka raised taxes and mercilessly jailed and executed people if they didn't bow down to her.

However, when Luka was 18 years old, she somehow softened up just a bit all thanks to Miku, who was able to return to the castle.

"Miku…" the princess finally raised her head to look out her window. She couldn't see anything except the full moon. She sighed as she lied back down, rubbing away the remaining tears in her eyes. Luka lay on her side for quite a while, not even attempting to go back to sleep. All she could think about was her teal haired servant. When Miku left that day, she was devastated and wouldn't eat or talk properly for weeks. Just thinking about Miku leaving again made her tear up.

'What if she's so upset with me that she decides to leave?' the princess hugged her pillow tighter at the thought of it. She couldn't help but feel scared; she locked Miku up in the dungeon because of a misunderstanding, so she thinks she might run away the next morning.

Luka got up immediately and walked towards her servant's room, worried that what she was thinking might actually happen. When she opened Miku's room, she took a peek before quietly entering and closing the door. She slowly made her way towards Miku's bed, and she sighed in relief when she saw her sleeping peacefully.

The moon shining from the window gave the room enough light for Luka to observe Miku's sleeping form. Her mouth was slightly open and she was lying on her side with her long hair spread across the bed. The blanket only covered up to the waist, giving Luka a good view of her body. Miku was always dressed in her black long sleeved uniform, and she always wore a robe whenever Luka called for her in the middle of the night; but right now she was only wearing a white sleeveless nightgown, which exposed her arms and a fair amount of her flawless skin. Coupled with that peaceful expression on her face, Miku looked like a delicate and carefree angel.

Luka found herself staring longer that necessary, but she snapped out of it when she realized that her eyes were practically devouring Miku's figure. She blushed heavily and shook her head wildly, trying to get certain thoughts out of her head. 'What the heck is wrong with me?' Luka slapped her face once to get a grip, but it got worse when Miku stirred and turned her body towards Luka's direction. Now the princess had an even better view of her servant's body, especially since the nightgown slid down slightly, exposing a bit more of Miku's chest.

'This is so wrong…' a minute ago Luka was worried sick about her servant leaving, now she was worried that she cannot resist the temptation to touch Miku's soft skin. She shook her head and slapped her face once more. 'I…I'm just curious, that's all! She's MY servant anyways; I can practically touch her as much as I w…ARGHH!' Luka didn't know why she was thinking that way; all she did was see her servant sleeping in a skimpy nightgown. But as much as she hated to admit it, seeing Miku in that state made her cheeks burn for some reason.

Luka sighed and glanced at the clock. It was pretty late and she was going to be busy the following day, so had to get as much sleep as she could.

"Miku?" the older woman gently shook the sleeping figure. "Miku…wake up…"

"Ngh…" Miku kept her eyes closed for a while, but after a few more seconds of shaking, she finally decided to open them. "Huh?" Miku sleepily started at her bed's canopy as she tried to take in her surroundings, it was still night time and she knew it was way too early to get up. She was about to go back to sleep when she noticed a figure standing by her bedside. She blinked a few times to adjust her eyes until the figure was finally clear. "Your Highness?"

Luka's eye twitched again, was she still going with the 'your highness' and 'your majesty' thing?

"What are you doing here?" Miku's mind was more awake now.

"I had another nightmare and I couldn't sleep."

The servant girl blinked slowly and sat up, adjusting her nightgown and gathering her hair. "You didn't have to come all the way here; you could've just ringed the bell."

"Yeah well…I didn't feel like ringing the bell."

"I see…" was the only answer Miku managed to say.

"I want to sleep here…"

"…what…?" this time, the young girl was fully awake.

"I said I want to sleep here." Luka answered back. Miku scratched her head and looked at the princess in confusion. Usually if Luka couldn't sleep, she would ring the bell in her room. Then Miku would either sing until she fell asleep, or go to bed with her. This was the first time Luka actually got up just to sleep here. "Is there a problem?"

"Ah no…I just got surprised, that's all…I just found it a bit unusual."

"Well, I'm sleeping here and there's nothing you can do about it, so move over." Miku scooted to the other side as Luka crawled into the bed and lied down beside her, pulling the covers over her body and facing the side opposite of Miku. "Good night."

"…Good night," Miku lowered herself on the bed and shifted around until she found a comfortable position to sleep in. She slowly started drifting off to sleep in a few minutes, but her mind was suddenly jolted awake when she felt a pair of soft arms wrapping around her waist from behind. "L-L-Luka?" She was more than awake now, she was blushing furiously and her heartbeat was racing. Luka wasn't doing any better either; the dim room hid her blushing face, but her erratic hearbeat could still be heard.

The princess slept beside her countless times already, but this was the first time she actually cuddled her. Miku was even more embarrassed because she was only wearing a nightgown; whenever she slept in Luka's bed, she always kept her robe on. 'W-what's going on? Why is the princess is acting really strange?'

"Miku…" her body suddenly stiffened when the older girl called her name. "You won't leave me again, right?"

Suddenly, all traces of embarrassment were lost. She stayed quiet for a few seconds to compose herself. She felt like she knew why the princess was acting this way, but she still needed to confirm. "…What made you think that?"

"The dungeon earlier…I thought that you might be so upset that you would run away and leave…"

"You know I'll never leave you," the servant turned around to face Luka, who was looking at her with worried eyes. Miku put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an assuring smile. Luka never apologized to anyone, but Miku knew when she was sorry. "I'll stay by your side for as long as you need me."

Luka smiled and hugged her tighter, bringing their bodies closer. "You promise? Promise that you'll stay with me forever?"

"Yes Luka, I promise." Miku answered, easing the older girl's troubled mind. The two of them were glad that things were now back to normal.

Miku hummed a soft and relaxing tune, which helped the princess fall asleep in a matter of minutes. She smiled and leaned her head on Luka's neck, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**This was originally the last part of chapter 4, but I decided to split it into 2 separate chapters.**

**So err...I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. ^^;; I stopped writing for a few weeks because of exams, so I kinda lost momentum. As much as I want to, I can't be writing all the time cause of school, but if I stop writing, I lose inspiration T_T. Argh, so confusing D:**

**I'll try to update as soon if I can. OTL**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Thank you for the reviews and I hope you guys keep reviewing! :D**


	6. Fated Reunions

**Hi gu...*someone throws a shoe*. Wahhh! I'm sorry it took so long, I already know how my story will flow, but for some reason I got stuck at chapter 6 and 7. Since I couldn't figure out what to write, I decided to rewrite chapter 6. Just a few minor changes to the plot, but it should be better than the last one, I hope ^^;;**

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**Chapter VI: Fated Reunions**

**...**

When the fancy carriage came to a halt, the driver opened the door for Miku and another fellow servant. They were in port town Clement once again, but this time Miku was not here to run errands. One of her fellow servants had to pick up a few things in town, so she thought it was a good opportunity to tag along the ride to visit a friend of hers.

"Ms. Miku!" a girl wearing a green and white maid uniform ran to Miku. "I'll be going to the town square to get these items on the list. What about you?"

"I'm headed to the residential district to visit my friend." Miku answered the shorter girl. "Let's meet back here after an hour and a half, is that alright with you?"

The pink haired maid nodded and waved goodbye to Miku as she disappeared into the crowd. When the maid was gone, Miku adjusted the basket in her arms and began walking towards the residential district. It was only 7 in the morning and the port town was already bustling with life. Wanting to avoid the crowd, the servant decided to take another path. The path was longer but she didn't mind though, because she gets to pass by the beach that she and Luka visited a month ago.

Miku continued walking and finally arrived at a bridge which separated the commercial and residential district, which was more quiet than the market place. She took several turns until she arrived at a certain house; it was not a mansion, but it was big enough to show off the owner's wealth. She knocked on the door a few times before a familiar green haired girl opened it. "Miku!"

The servant was tackled into a hug and she almost dropped the basket she was carrying. "Hey Gumi, how's it going?"

"I'm doing great!" Gumi beamed at her friend, not realizing that Miku was turning blue from the lack of air.

"T-that's good to know," Miku was finally able to breathe when she was released from Gumi's death hug. "Is Ms. Haku awake already?"

"Yeah, she's having breakfast in the dining room. Why don't you come in? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." Gumi said as she pulled her friend inside excitedly.

A month has already passed since Miku first got sent to the dungeon. When Gumi was released, she was worried because she didn't have anywhere to go. She was an only child, her parents were dead, and she couldn't return to her old house because she was banished; if she stayed in the Rose Kingdom any longer, she would be sent back to the dungeon to be tortured and executed. Thankfully, Miku told her that she knew a person in Port Clement that would gladly take her in.

That person was a kind and wealthy merchant lady named Haku Yowane. When Miku was kicked out of the castle, she had been passed from person to person until she ended up with a wicked master. She remembered that her master treated her harshly and she got insulted and yelled at for making the simplest mistakes. One day while Haku was visiting Miku's master, she saw how unkindly the child was treated simply because she bought her master the wrong newspaper. When the insults continued throughout the entire day, Haku couldn't take anymore. She offered the man a great amount of money just to take Miku off his hands, and he was more than happy to accept. She broke her connections with the cruel man and took Miku under her wing.

Miku once again found herself in a fortunate situation because Haku treated her like her own child. For the first time in many years, she didn't have to act as a servant. Haku taught her many things and a variety of useful skills; in fact, Haku was the one who taught Miku how to prepare tea that the princess loved so much. She grew up with Haku just like a normal girl. The only complaint she had was that they lived in a country that was far away from the Rose Kingdom. The young Miku knew that it would probably be a long time before she could ever see Luka again, but nevertheless, she didn't give up on that hope.

That ray of hope came a few years later when Haku told her that they would be moving to the Port Clement, which was next to the Rose Kingdom. Miku was thrilled because she finally had the chance to see Luka again. The white haired woman also felt a bit sad when Miku asked her if she could return to the Rose Kingdom castle to become a servant once more. As much as she would miss the lively girl, she didn't have the heart to deny her request because she wanted Miku to be truly happy. Haku granted her request and Miku returned to the castle, but she would drop by every once in a while to visit her, just like now.

When they arrived at the dining room, Miku saw the white haired lady reading the paper while enjoying a hot cup of coffee. "Ms. Haku!"

The woman glanced up from her newspaper and smiled when she saw her former companion. "Miku dear, it's good to see you again. How are things going in the castle?"

"Everything's fine, there's not much going on." Miku pulled a chair and sat across the older woman as Gumi poured her a cup of coffee. "Well, the Princess and I are going to the Purple Kingdom tomorrow for the Prince Gakupo's 21st birthday."

"Really? Who else is coming?" Gumi took a seat next to the servant girl and grabbed a nearby carrot to munch on.

"I know all of the rulers in this continent were invited along with a couple of nobles. The party's important after all, since it's also an opportunity for the prince to choose a suitor if he doesn't have one yet." A very faint grimace found its way to Miku's face when she mentioned the prince, but only Haku seemed to have noticed it.

When the words "Gakupo's suitor" came into mind, Miku could only think of Luka. Miku knew that the Princess has a crush on Gakupo ever since they were children. In the past, Luka would always have strange mood swings whenever he was around…she went from harsh and cold to gentle and sweet in a matter of minutes. Gakupo on the other hand, was a bratty boy who teased (and was occasionally injured by) Luka. The two had a strange relationship when they were children, they would pretend to hate each other, but the truth was they got along pretty well.

Although Gakupo grew out of his bratty habits and turned into a fine gentleman, Miku was still cold towards him because Luka's attention was always focused on him when he's around. Miku wouldn't have minded if it were not for that fact that the Princess totally ignored her when Gakupo was present. Miku didn't understand why the prince has such an effect on her; she easily forgave and normally she wouldn't stay mad at someone this long. It's been years already, yet she still feels irritated when she sees Gakupo.

The teal haired girl shook her head and took a deep breath; not wanting to rant about the Prince of the Purple Kingdom, she decided to change the topic. "Oh, before I forget…" Miku's expression changed immediately when she placed her basket on the table. "Teto baked a lot of these, so she asked me to give some to you guys." Miku uncovered the basket's cover to reveal half a dozen pieces of mouth-watering French bread, Teto's specialty.

"Tell Teto I love her and that I miss her," Gumi grabbed a piece of bread in a blink of an eye and started eating it blissfully.

"Easy now, Gumi" Haku laughed as she took a piece as well. "There's plenty more where that came from. Besides, what ever happened to the carrot you were eating a while ago? You left the poor thing half finished."

"Oh you're right," the green haired girl said before slicing the French bread in half. She sandwiched the carrot between the two slices and began eating it like a rabbit.

"You're a weirdo, you know that?" Miku laughed as she drank her coffee.

"…Says the weirdo who's obsessed with leeks."

The older woman laughed at the two girls in amusement, they were more like sisters than close friends.

Miku stayed and had breakfast with the two girls, they chatted for a while until the table was clear of food. "Thank you for having me over guys, I have to get going now."

Haku and Gumi nodded accompanied the servant to the door and bid her farewell. "Don't forget to visit again soon! Say "Hi!" to Momo and everyone back at the castle"

"Don't worry, I will!" Miku waved them good bye as she started walking back.

**...oooooooooo...**

Instead of going into the heart of the town, Miku decided to take the long way around since the area will be more crowded than before. She didn't mind though, because she got to pass by the beach once more. Miku figured that she'd stay a few minutes there to enjoy the morning ocean breeze, but as she got closer to the sandy ground, something caught her eye.

It was hard not to see that little ball of sunshine skipping on the sand; it was none other than Rin Kagamine of course. Following her from behind was his calmer twin brother Len, who decided to just walk and allow Rin to do all the skipping and twirling. When the elder twin turned to Miku's direction, she smiled widely and ran towards the servant as soon as she recognized the familiar teal hair. Miku almost fell back from the force, not expecting the blonde to tackle and glomp her.

"MIIKUUUUUUU!" Rin still had her arms and legs wrapped tightly around the struggling servant. "I haven't seen you in weeks!"

"C-Can't…breathe…!" the victim was struggling to keep her balance as the blonde continued to cling to her. She finally got her breath of air when Rin released her from the hug. She's been receiving a lot of hugs lately, but so far Rin and Gumi's were the deadliest. "I'm glad to see you too, Rin!"

For the past month ever since Miku met the twins, it seems like she's been running into them quite often. Their Mistress stayed in the Rose Kingdom for a few weeks and she brought along her two trusty twin servants. She ran into Len more often the Rin, but this was the first time that she saw the twins standing side by side. They really did look like alike.

"Hey there Miku!" the girl turned her head and noticed Len walking towards the two of them. He stopped in front of Miku and looked at her face curiously before turning to Rin. "See, sis? I told you her face turns red every time she sees me."

Miku turned away in embarrassment, but the insistent Rin followed her face anyways.

"Wow, you're right! That's so cute!" Rin pinched Miku's cheek and giggled innocently.

"Er…anyways…" Miku tried to make a new topic other than her blushing face. "How are you guys?"

"Lady Miriam is already done with her business in the Rose Kingdom," Len stretched and put his hands in his pockets. "She still needs to take care of something here in Port Clement though, so we're staying here for the night."

"Then tomorrow, we'll be going with her to the Purple Kingdom since she was invited to Prince Gakupo's party!" Rin said while waving her arms excitedly.

"Really? Then it'll looks like we'll be seeing each other tomorrow again," Miku smiled widely at the pair. "Princess Luka was also invited to the party and I'm going with her."

"That's so great!" Rin jumped in surprise and clasped Miku's hands in hers. "Did you hear Len! We get to see Miku again tomorrow!" The energetic blonde took his brother's arm and playfully leaned on him.

Miku observed the two as Len tried to struggle from his sister's tight grasp. The Kagamines may look alike on the outside, but their personalities contrast like night and day. Rin was the more outgoing among the two; she was loud, bold, and energetic, and she always had a carefree smile on her face. Len on the other hand was more reserved and soft spoken; he had a bit of a mischievous side and liked to joke around, but not as much as Rin. Even though they were different, they got along pretty well and they spoke highly of each other. Rin looked up to his younger brother because of his caring character and Len admired his sister's outgoing personality. The twins were truly two sides of the same coin.

After a while, Len finally broke free when Rin gave him a surprise headlock. "You know, that reminds me…we never got to visit the castle during our stay in the Kingdom; but since we're all going to the same party tomorrow, I guess we'll finally get to see the infamous Rose Princess. From what I heard, Lady Miriam says that the Princess can be a bi…er…I heard she has a pretty nasty attitude. Is that true?" Len struggled to find a nicer word.

"Well…she always treats me nicely," Miku rarely talked about the princess with the twins. "The two of us actually get along very well like you guys, it's just that…she's not comfortable showing her gentle side to other people."

"I heard she treats her servants like dirt…Hey, if she's mean to you, you could always work for Lady Miriam. We'd be more than happy to take you in."

"Haha, I think I'll pass," Miku smoothly waved her hand as she laughed uneasily. "Unfortunately, you're right. The other servants don't get treated as well as me. But even so, I won't ever leave the princess' side."

The Kagamines thought that Miku was being sarcastic, but that gentle smile on her face that followed made them think otherwise.

"Ok, now I'm curious. Why does she treat you differently?" Rin asked. "What's your relationship with her?"

Miku laughed and shifted her gaze to the ocean as she told her story; about how she was an orphan that was taken in by Luka's family when she was young. She narrated her background in brief and she ended with their separation when she was 8 years old. When Len asked her how she was able meet Luka again after all those years, Miku re-dug her past as she continued to tell her story.

**...**

_FLASHBACK_

_The 13 year old Miku stood before the counter as she chopped vegetables next to a fellow chef named Teto. It was Miku's first day back at the palace and she had been assigned to the kitchen. She wanted to see Luka badly, but the senior servants denied her request, calling her crazy and insane. Miku just sighed as she wiped her hands on the apron; it was only her first day, so she'll have plenty of chances later on. Just when she was about to chop the next set of ingredients, one of the guards stepped in the kitchen and everyone stopped what they were doing._

"_Who was the one who made the soup?" the guard asked as he looked around the kitchen. All the cooks looked and whispered at each other, and pretty soon, most of the eyes slowly fell on Miku._

"_I did, sir…" Miku meekly raised her hand and stepped forward._

"_Her highness is complaining about the soup and she wants me to bring the one who made it," everyone gasped when the guard told them. Miku gulped audibly as she put down the knife and followed the guard outside. Everyone looked at her as she exited the room; she could hear whispers about her breaking a record for pissing off the princess when it had only been her first day. Her new friends Gumi and Teto looked at her nervously and she could hear the head chef muttering about where to find a new replacement._

_Miku was led through a series of lavishly decorated halls and rooms until they finally made it to the dining room. The sides were lined with maids and butlers that were waiting on the 17 year old Luka. The princess herself was staring out the window with one hand behind her back and the other holding a bowl of soup, clearly pissed. When Miku set her eyes on Luka, she suddenly felt happy and surprised. In the 5 years that they were apart, the princess has grown more beautiful and elegant._

"_Pr…"_

"_Now, bow before me!" Luka interrupted before Miku could get a word out of her mouth. One of the guards pushed her roughly to the ground on her knees and she remained there. "You useless thing! I asked for minestrone soup…but this…!" Luka angrily eyed the soup and tossed in on the ground, shattering the bowl into a million pieces. "There's too much leek in it! I can barely see any other ingredients in it! This doesn't even look like minestrone anymore! IF I WANTED LEEK SOUP, I WOULD HAVE ASKED FOR LEEK SOUP! I WANTED MINESTRONE!"_

_Miku winced when she heard the bowl break, she had never seen or heard Luka like this before. For the very first time, she felt afraid of her. What ever happened to the Luka she knew 5 years ago? Was this really Luka Megurine? Miku held still and stared at the ground in fright; the room was silent until the heartless princess spoke once more._

"_Hmph! Guards, send her to the…dun…geon…" when Luka finally turned around to see the unlucky soul who dared upset her, she was taken aback when she saw a very familiar shade of teal before her. The young girl had her hands and knees on the ground and she was visibly trembling. The servants and guards looked at the princess with baffled expressions; that was the first time they had seen her with that face. Luka's shaky eyes were wide open in shock and her mouth was hanging open, she stood still as if she was not done taking in the sight before her. "E…" the servants slightly leaned their bodies forward when they heard Luka mutter something after a few minutes. _

"_Everyone get out! OUT! NOW! Everyone except the girl!"_

_The guards and servants quickly shuffled around and left the dining room in a hurry, leaving Luka alone with the new teal haired maid. Luka took small and careful steps towards the girl's kneeling form until she was directly in front of her; Miku was still shaking, but not as much as before. The sight of her long lost friend immediately melted Luka's ice cold heart._

"…_M-Miku…?"_

_At the sound of her name, the maid lifted her head up to meet Luka's eyes. It was the same shade of blue that she missed so much. _

"…_Miku…" the princess lowered herself to Miku's level and held out her hand hesitantly before she finally stroked her cheek. "Is that really you?"_

_The teal haired girl lifted her hand and touched Luka's hand, which was still on her cheek. "Yes princess, it me, Miku…Miku Hatsune…"_

"_T-this isn't a dream…right?" Luka's voice was shaky and her eyes were starting to water._

"_No princess, it's not a dream," Miku tightened her grasp on the princess hand and smiled. "I have returned…I've come home."_

_In no sooner than a heartbeat, Luka immediately wrapped her arms around her long lost servant. She held Miku tightly and Luka kept saying her name over and over as the tears she tried to hold back finally got released. Miku returned the hug and embraced the princess's body firmly, missing her master's warmth and gentleness. Miku couldn't stop her own tears from flowing as Luka stroked her hair and buried her head in her shoulder. Luka didn't know how long they stayed there hugging each other tearfully, she was just glad to have Miku back safe and sound. _

_Luka finally broke the hug and stared at her friend's wet eyes. She wiped a tear with her hand and smiled fondly at her; she missed seeing those mesmerising teal orbs. Luka pulled her back into a hug and closed her tearful eyes in happiness. After all these years, she finally has what she had been yearning for in a very long time, and she has never felt more satisfied. _

"_Welcome back, Miku. Welcome home…" _

_END FLASHBACK_

**...**

"…and that's how we met again," Miku and the twins were now seated on the sand a few feet away from the ocean.

"…t-that's so touching…!" Rin's eyes glistened in admiration as she listened to the story, just a little more push and the blonde would actually start crying. "Oh Miku! You're so strong and brave, to think all those things happened to you! You know, maybe I was wrong about the Princess. She seems like a nice person." She immediately enveloped Miku in another death hug, having a new found admiration for the teal haired girl. While being hug, Miku was actually surprised by what Rin said, this was the first time someone (other than her) called Luka a nice person.

"Maybe she's not as harsh as she looks if what you're saying. But seriously Miku, you're story is like something that came out of a book." Len said. "You should write it down or something, I bet you'd make a lot of money. I'll definitely buy it too!"

Miku blushed at the prospect, earning her a round of laughter from the Kagamines. Their laughing and chatting continued until, Rin stood up abruptly and looked around. "Wait, how long have we been here already?" The three gasped and realized that they have stayed longer than necessary; people might already be looking for them. "Haha, we got so caught up in Miku's life story that we didn't notice the time."

"Haha, I'm sorry about that," Miku was helped up by Len and she brushed off the sand on her dress.

"There you go again, apologizing for needless things!" Len laughed jokingly. "Rin and I enjoyed your story quite a lot, so there's no need to say sorry." Len winked playfully, making Miku blush once again. "…and that blushing thing too, you do that a lot, haha! Anyway, we better get going, I guess we'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"You go on ahead Len, Miku and I'll just have a short girl talk, I'll catch up in a while." Rin tapped her hand on his brother's head, who just shrugged and walk out of the beach. Miku was about to ask Rin what was up, but the latter's mischievous smile immediately sent shivers up her spine. "You have a crush on my brother, don't you?"

"What? I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Miku said out a little too loudly.

"Silly girl, don't try to play dumb. The way you look at him and blush…you're never like that with me you know? ~"

"T-That's not true! I don't always blush when I see him."

"Oh yes you do~ Len said so himself," Rin laughed as she watched Miku's face turn into various shades of red. "Come on, don't be shy!"

"O-okay…maybe I like him a little…"

"Haha! I knew it!" Rin ran up to the girl and gave her yet another one of her famous hugs. Miku had to admit…with Rin's attitude, she would've never figured out that she had a sharp and observant. "A lot of maids back in the mansion have crushes on him. I mean, who can blame him? He's got good looks, his voice is terrific, and he's quite the gentleman. If I weren't his sister, I would've fallen head over heels for him already."

"Ah…I see…" Miku raised an eyebrow at the ever energetic Rin.

"But poor Lenny here is just too clueless when it comes to things like love and whatnot…" Rin placed her hands on her hips and stood proudly. "However Miku, out of all the people who have a crush on him, I like you the most, which is why I'm going to help you get together with my idiot of a brother!"

"Really Rin, you don't need to go that far!" Miku waved her hand frantically, her heart beating wildly. Was this girl for real?

"You need to be more assertive, dear! And think about it, if both of you get married in the future, we could become sisters-in-law!"

"…M-m-married? W-wait a minute! It's a bit to soon to think about that don't you think?" she had a small crush on Len, but getting married to him never even crossed her mind. She couldn't even imagine it.

"Come on! It'll be fun! Besides, it's never too soon to think about the future!"

Miku blinked and laughed out loud. She thought that Rin was probably excited about the idea of playing cupid. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"Yeah I know! That's why I'm awesome!" Rin laughed as she took the girl's hand in her own once more. "But really, Miku, if you want to get together with my brother, all you have to do is ask. I'd be more than happy to help."

"I'll think about it," Miku returned Rin's smile and they bid farewell to each other. She smiled warmly as Rin skipped along the beach and caught up with his brother. If she didn't meet Gumi, Rin would've been her number one best friend instead; maybe someday she could introduce them to each other, they'll definitely get along right away. The blonde was a ball of sunshine bursting with energy and her smile was revitalizing; she'd definitely make a good sister.

Miku couldn't wait to see them again at tomorrow's party.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**Oooh, smells like a love triangle is coming up. I wonder how Luka will react when she find out about Miku's little crush…and how Miku will behave when Gakupo's around? I bet you guys are curious about what's gonna happen in Gakupo's party. :P Oh yeah, I gave the port town a name so that I don't always have to type "port town". I also wasn't able to name Miku's companion in the first part of the story, but I did say that she wore a green and white maid uniform and had pink hair. Any guesses on who she is? ;)**

**So guys, is the pacing alright? Too fast? Too slow? Too short? Too long? Also, it's a bit rushed, so I apologize if there are any grammatical or spelling errors, I'll fix those when I upload the next chapter. I'd love to hear what you guys think of the story. :D Oh, and expect the next update to be around 2 weeks bec...*someone throws a tomato* Wait! Lemme explain! X_X My midterms are next week, so I'll be quite busy. So yeah, thanks for reviewing everyone! You guys are awesome! YEAH! **


	7. Evening Waltz

**Um…sorry I took so long… *gets hit by a cabbage and various other objects***

**So much for my "the next update won't go beyond one month" promise. OTL The long version of my apology can be read at the bottom, lol. For now, I hope you enjoy the chapter. To make up for lost time, I made it longer than the other chapters (I think).**

**Special thanks to Jak656 for proof reading ^_^**

**ooooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**Chapter VII: Evening Waltz**

**...**

Miku yawned as she continued to stare at the wall, bored. She was waiting for Luka to finish taking a bath, but unfortunately, the princess hadn't come out yet; and to think they had to leave in an hour. As Miku continued to pace around the room, her eyes wandered to the evening gown that was spread across the bed. Upon gazing at the crimson red dress and imagining how beautiful Luka would look in it, she was reminded of the princess once more.

Ever since the dungeon incident a month ago, she noticed that Luka had been more affectionate lately. Before, Miku used to sleep in the princess' room only once or twice a month, or sometimes not at all. But recently, Luka had been calling Miku to sleep with her more often, two or three times a week even. She already felt like she slept in Luka's room more than her own this past month. In addition, Luka had been hugging her like a giant teddy bear every time they slept. It was awkward the first few times, but eventually the young servant got used to it. On the contrary, she actually enjoyed the extra attention Luka had been giving her.

The only thing that confused Miku was the way Luka would look at her. It was all the same except for a noticeable glimmer in her eyes, and she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She sighed and shook her head; it was probably just her imagination.

This was no time to be thinking of such things…she was not allowed to think of such things.

Miku was starting to lose her patience, so she stood up and knocked on the bathroom door. "Luka, I think you've stayed in there long enough…" Helping Luka get ready usually takes a while…and she still wasn't coming out.

"Yeah, yeah…just give me a few more minutes…" the princess answered from behind the door. The servant frowned and sat back on the bed. 'Really now, what is she doing in there?'

Inside the bathroom, the pink haired girl submerged her body deeper into the tub until only half her head was surfaced. Of all the times she had to be deep in thought, it had to be now. The only thing on her mind right now was the servant who was waiting for her outside. For some odd reason, she wanted to get closer and spend more time with Miku, more so than ever before. Maybe it had something to do with that incident a month ago, because that's when she noticed that she started looking at Miku differently.

Whenever they slept together before, Luka never got the opportunity to watch Miku sleep, because Luka would always fall asleep first and wake up last. The moment she saw her serene sleeping figure and hugged her fragile form, she felt something unexplainable deep inside herself...

Luka wanted to feel more of that gentle warmth every time she touched Miku. That was why she would try to touch her as often as possible, even if they just brushed along each other. She didn't know what this feeling was, but she wanted to feel more of it. It was something that she yearned for as days passed, which was why she embraced her in bed as much as possible. Luka only wished that she would take off that 'stupid night robe' that she wore every night. Luka couldn't ask her to remove it since there was no reason for Miku to do so. The princess couldn't simply say 'Hey Miku, take off that robe so that I can feel your skin some more!' That would be outright awkward.

"Luka…"

Luka's random train of thoughts were interrupted by an exasperated groan from the other side of the door. She had indeed stayed in the tub for too long and her skin was getting dangerously wrinkled. "Alright already…I'm getting out."

"…finally," Miku sighed from the other side of the door. The servant checked the princess' evening outfit once more before grabbing a comb from the table, but she stopped when something caught her eye. On the sofa sat two neatly folded pieces of cloth, a towel and a bathrobe. But if it was out here and not in the bathroom that means…'Uh oh!'

"Miku," the princess suddenly opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing. She was dripping wet and she scanned the room looking for Miku. "I can't find my towel…Oh there it is!" Luka casually strode over to her unmoving servant, who was holding her towel. She grabbed the towel from Miku's hands and started wiping her face. Only when she finished drying her hair did she notice her servant. Miku was still frozen in place; her mouth was wide open her face was red like a beet.

"What?" Luka spoke, breaking Miku out of her stupefied state.

"I-it's nothing…" Miku swiftly turned around in embarrassment. Of all the times she had to forget her towel, why now? "C-can you please go back to the bathroom? Please?"

It only took a few moments for Luka to realize what was bothering her servant. "What's the problem? It's not like it's the first time you've seen me completely naked. I mean, you help me dress up everyday after all."

"B-but…but…you always wear your underwear when I help you dress! T-this is different," Miku stuttered nervously as she fidgeted around to distract herself. Her eyes rapidly wandered the room as she tried to avoid looking at the princess' naked figure.

"We're both girls anyway," Luka shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the bathrobe that was still on the sofa. She wrapped the towel around her hair and wore the bathrobe to save Miku from any further embarrassment, even though it's supposed to be the other way around. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"I don't know…it's just…" Miku couldn't explain why it was making her flustered. It was true that she had seen Luka naked before, but not in a very long time. And lately, even if Luka was wearing her underwear, she couldn't help but gawk at Luka's milky white skin and curvy form. Miku couldn't understand what was wrong with her…why was looking at Luka affecting her so much more than it was months ago? She shook her head to avoid anymore unnecessary thoughts from entering her head and tried to calm down. "You're right…I'm sorry. I'll just get your dress ready, why don't you dry up in the meantime?"

Luka observed her servant as she dried herself while walking back to the bathroom. Miku still had a pinkish tint on her cheeks as she busied herself with the first thing she got her hands on, careful to avoid eye contact with her master. Luka didn't mean to make Miku flustered like that, but for some reason, she liked the reaction that her servant made upon seeing her in this state of undress.

'Maybe I should do that more often,' the princess thought amusingly as she entered the bathroom to put on her undergarments.

**...oooooooooo...**

The grand ballroom was already filled with guests by the time they arrived. So when the doorman announced the arrival of the Rose Kingdom's Princess, all eyes were directed towards them as they walked down the grand staircase and into the room. Luka walked with elegance and pride as the people applauded upon her arrival; following behind was her entourage consisting of Miku, Kiyoteru, and Ted, who were also dressed quite well for the party. As soon as the clapping died down, a small group of nobles suddenly formed around Luka; greeting her, complimenting her gorgeous dress, and asking how things were going in the Rose Kingdom.

The area around Luka was beginning to get quite crowded, so the princess' escorts had to step aside to give space for the nobles. With a quick glance at each other, the princess smiled at Miku and waved her hand, telling her that she could go around for a little while. Seeing as it would be impossible to get to Luka right now, Miku nodded and offered her master a small smile.

Kiyoteru straightened his tie and roamed around the room with Miku and Ted. Whenever there was a grand party like this, the two men always had to come to escort the princess. Although they were leagues below Miku's level, Luka trusted them more out of all the other castle staff.

In gatherings like these, Ted was the bodyguard and Kiyoteru was the 'entrance accessory,' whose role was to be the person that Luka clings on to while making her entrance. He didn't mind though, at least he got to go to the party. As soon as they'd made a grand entrance, Ted and Kiyoteru were dismissed and allowed to roam around on their own; usually the later converses with other guests to gather information and improve relations. Miku on the other hand would usually stay close to the princess. Although Miku was also an escort, it would have looked pretty weird if the princess entered the scene holding onto the arm of another woman like a couple.

"Hey Miku, Ted, I'll just be over there with my friends," Kiyoteru pointed at a group of people who were calling him over. "Will you guys be alright on your own?"

"Sure, it's not a problem," Miku nodded and replied. As soon as Kiyoteru walked away, the teal haired girl looked over at Luka. She was now only talking with Queen Lily and a few nobles from the Purple Kingdom. The servant thought that it might be rude to interrupt their conversation now, so she'd wait until Luka was alone before she'll approach her. "I'll be going to the buffet table Ted, what about you?"

"I'll check the place out. I'll see if there are any potential threats to her highness' safety." with a polite bow, Ted walked off and began scouting the area. Miku chuckled and watched Ted disappear into the crowd. She knew that the captain was a workaholic and he was always serious when it came to his job. The only time he drops his stoic façade is whenever his older sister Teto was around. That girl always managed to turn Ted from a vicious guard dog into a harmless puppy, which the other servants find to be highly amusing.

Now that Miku was all alone, she headed to the buffet table to grab appetizers for Luka and herself.

**...oooooooooo...**

Luka's eye twitched as Queen Lily continued teasing the young princess. No matter how much Luka tried to counter the teasing, it seemed that Lily was immune to her sarcastic comments. Luka never could win these types of contests with the queen, which left her flustered and embarrassed in frustration. What frustrated Luka more was that she couldn't treat Lily like crap, like how she treats anyone else below her. Luka wasn't in her own Kingdom, Lily was also a monarch, and they were in the middle of a social gathering. Yelling at a servant in the middle of the party was understandable, but yelling at a monarch was different. Luka would definitely embarrass herself.

In fact, Luka and Lily's relationship were terrible when they were children, all because they both had a crush on a certain purple haired lad. Whenever the three of them were together, a fight would always be ensued much to the dismay of Gakupo and the other servants. When years flew by and both princesses were in their mid-teens, Luka almost had Lily murdered if the latter hadn't announced her engagement to another man soon. Things got a little better for the two of them that time, and Lily was off Luka's "_People to be assassinated_" list. But that didn't mean Luka was completely alright being around her; after all, she always looked so much happier than Luka, something that she couldn't stand, or even understand. The Rose Kingdom Princess was definitely wealthier than Lily, yet she was still not content with it; whereas Lily looked like the most satisfied and happiest person on the face of the planet. She didn't understand what Lily had that she did not, and it was a blow to her pride because everything in the world had to belong to her.

"…hey, are you even listening to me?" Lily asked with her eyebrows raised. Apparently she'd been talking on and on about something that Luka couldn't even bother to listen to.

"Yeah, yeah I was…" Luka huffed and crossed her arms with an irked expression on her face.

"Alright good! So do you promise to keep your end of the deal?" the queen flashed a perfect smile at Luka.

Luka's eye twitched once more, she didn't even know what the heck Lily was talking about for the past few minutes. "Yeah sure whatever…"

"You really promise, or are you just lying? You're not being sarcastic?" Oh, so apparently Lily knows what sarcasm is.

"I said yes already," Luka rolled her eyes and pushed Lily away, but not roughly. "Could I be any more sarcastic?"

Lily paused for a moment before laughing out loud at Luka's hypocritical humor, "I'll take that as a yes!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" the young princess held back the urge to face palm, lest she ruin her makeup.

"I know, just making sure~" Lily laughed it off. She actually knew when Luka was being sarcastic or not, she just found it more fun to tease the princess by pretending to play dumb. The look on Luka's face was priceless after all. It was a good thing she was safe in this environment, otherwise Luka would've strangled her already, comedic or not. "That reminds me, where's your servant?" Lily decided that it was a perfect time to change the topic since Luka was very close to blowing her head off.

"I think she's just over there…no wait…" Luka looked around the place and tried to see if she could see at least a patch of teal. "Wait, where is she?"

There were so many people that it was hard to find Miku; she couldn't even see Kiyoteru or Ted. Luka sighed, when she gave Miku permission to go around, she actually meant 'go around, but not too far that I can't see you anymore.'

"Maybe you should start looking for her then," Lily offered a kind and sincere smile to Luka. "Besides, someone's calling for me over there."

"Er, yeah…" Luka awkwardly looked at her former rival and nodded. "I guess I'll see you later."

"It was nice chatting with you again," the Queen of Yellow waved goodbye and headed to Lady Miriam, who called for her earlier.

Now that Luka was alone, she started walking around the party to find Miku before any other people decided to come up and chat with her. Even when some people did call for her, she pretended to not hear them. The princess went to the buffet table and the dance floor and there was still no sign of Miku. 'For heaven's sake, why is it so hard to find her? She's the only person in the place with teal hair!' Fortunately, she spotted Kiyoteru on one side of the gigantic hall, he would probably know where the young servant was. Just before she was about to take a step, her ears suddenly perked when she heard two people nearby talking about her.

"Yeah you said it, Princess Luka doesn't deserve to sit on the throne," a noble man was conversing with his friend.

"I heard that she treats everyone like crap, yet she gets treated like she's queen of the world! That's just stupid and annoying," the other noble replied.

"No, she's stupid and annoying," the two of them laughed mockingly. "I'm surprised that heartless woman still hasn't been dethroned yet, I mean, what are the Rose citizens doing?"

"They probably got infected by her stupidity," the pair of nobles kept conversing and insulting Luka, unaware that she was near enough to overhear their conversation. The princess herself was burning with anger. In Luka's mind, they would definitely not be leaving the Purple Kingdom alive. Scumbags like them deserve to be assassinated immediately; and that is also another reason why she bought Ted along. She'll have to forget about Miku in the meantime, she had to look for the captain and tell him immediately. The sooner those two idiot nobles are gone, the better.

"Hey! What the…?"

Luka turned her head to the source of the yell and saw those two gossiping nobles earlier. However, both their suits were stained with food.

"Alright! Who threw that?" the two of them looked around, but people only stared at them and their newly stained clothes. The people who bothered to look at them looked at each other, trying to find the culprit. "Answer me! Who the fuck threw this at me?"

They were only answered with disapproving and amused stares; after all, not only were their clothes stained with food, their outburst and bad choice of words only proved to embarrass themselves further.

"Excuse me gentlemen," a servant calmly bowed before the two nobles. "Would you like me to escort you to the changing room? We can have your suits cleaned there."

"Tch…!" the noble pulled off a piece of food still clinging to his suit and angrily tossed in on the floor. The two men grumpily followed the servant and the crowd made way for them.

Luka chuckled at the sight of the two pathetic men, although she still didn't feel like it was karma enough that they just got embarrassed like that. But her wishes were soon answered when she saw Ted against the wall looking directly at her. The princess discreetly pointed at the two noblemen; with a few discreet hand signals, Ted easily understood that those two were to be punished after the party. The captain nodded emotionlessly and disappeared into the crowd. They won't die, they'll just be taught a very traumatic lesson that they would never forget.

Now that that was settled, it was time to look for Miku once again. In no sooner than a second, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, and it was none other than her faithful servant. "Were you looking for me, Princess?"

"Yes I was. Where were you?" Luka was in a slightly better mood after the scene those two noblemen created.

"I just got some food for the two of us," Miku showed her the plate full of appetizers that she picked out. "I already saw you, but there seemed to be a commotion in this part of the room so I couldn't get to you immediately." Luka observed the plate closely; it had some sandwiches, a few vegetables, and some bite-sized seafood. However, there was a small spot in the corner of the plate that was empty. It was next to a single eggplant appetizer, the same one that was thrown at the nobles earlier. "Hmm, I wonder what the fuss was all about."

Luka shifted her gaze from the plate to her servant, eyeing her curiously. Miku replied with a wink and a mischievous smile. Finally understanding what happened, Luka chuckled softly and playfully patted her servant's hair. "You're aim's getting better I see."

"Why thank you," Miku smiled gleefully and held out the plate politely. "Would you like an eggplant?"

"Thank you, don't mind if I do," Luka poked the small eggplant with a cocktail fork and put it in her mouth. The pair laughed once more as they remembered a similar incident in the past. The last time Miku did something like that was when they were young children. A couple of nobles were insulting Luka, which naturally angered the young servant. She attempted to throw a piece of cake at the offending noble, but it accidentally landed on someone else. She was punished afterwards by not being allowed to eat for the rest of the day much to Luka's utter dismay. But the princess still snuck in a few snacks for her servant that unfortunate day.

Their laughter was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a trumpet, followed by silence in the room.

"Your attention please!" announced a servant at the base of the grand stairway. "We would like to present to you, the Royal Family of the Purple Kingdom. His Royal Highness, King Kentaro Kamui and Her Royal Highness, Queen Kagura Kamui." The two monarchs descended down the stairs as a round of applause echoed thought the room. As soon as the pair reached the bottom, the announcer cleared his throat discreetly and motioned his hand to top once more.

"And finally, we would like to present to you the guest of honor, His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Gakupo Kamui of the Purple Kingdom!" The room burst into an even louder applause as the birthday celebrant emerged from the doors. He waved at the crowd as he slowly walked down the stairs in a refined manner. His vibrant purple hair was tied into a ponytail and he wore an elegant suit to match the color of his hair, together with white pants and black boots.

The people's clapping softened when the prince reached the foot of the stairs; and almost immediately, he was surrounded by a pack of guests, shaking his hand and congratulating him on his coming of age.

The party musicians resumed their playing once more and the other guests had already diverted their attention from the prince; the prince would be around the whole night, so there would be plenty of opportunities to talk to him.

"I'm going to get closer so that he can see me," Luka didn't even wait for Miku's reply. She just walked off all of a sudden towards the purple haired prince. Miku, who was left standing on the spot, just sighed and proceeded to follow Luka. She already knew how things were going to turn out.

Miku was able to catch up with the princess because she stopped a few steps away from the guests surrounding the prince. Luka waved her hand a bit to catch the prince's attention, and when he finally noticed her, her heart skipped a beat as soon as their eyes met. With a gracious smile, the prince waved back at Luka and excused himself from the other nobles. Luka's heart thumped rapidly as the prince slowly approached her, whereas Miku sighed in defeat, reminding herself to control her emotions and not to be too over-protective.

"Princess Luka," Gakupo bowed before her and gently took her hand, planting a soft and small kiss on it. "I'm so glad you made it to the party."

"The pleasure is all mine, my prince. I wouldn't miss it for the world." The blushing Luka curtsied in return and looked warmly into the eyes of the man before her.

Gakupo released the princess' hand and turned to the teal haired servant. "It's nice to see you too, Miku." The servant bowed before him and gave the prince a tiny smile; she didn't like him, but she was mature enough to act civil and politely towards him. "So are you two enjoying the party so far?"

"Yes, it's been absolutely wonderful." Luka answered almost immediately. "I love what you've done with the place and the food looks fantastic!"

Gakupo smiled back at her and chuckled softly. "I'm glad you're having a great time. My parents went all out because they wanted this party to be absolutely perfect."

"Of course they would. The 21st birthday is the most special birthday after all. I mean, you can finally earn the title of "King" once your parents retire."

"Haha, I don't think my parents will be retiring that soon. Besides, I still have a lot to learn from them when it comes to ruling the country. I'm not even sure if I can do a good a job as them."

"Come on, I've known you since you were a kid, and as far as I can tell, you'd make an even greater ruler than them." Luka laughed a bit as Gakupo blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Thanks, that really means a lot to me," he placed a hand gently on her shoulder, causing the princess to blush. "I was a bit nervous when I went in, but now I feel much more relaxed since you're here."

Miku kept her poker face intact as she listened to the conversation between the two rulers. Usually in gatherings like this, Miku was next to Luka most of time. Whenever someone would approach Luka and start a conversation, she would always acknowledge her servant's presence either by glancing at her once in a while or asking her opinion on the matter. However, when it came to Gakupo, she was ignored and it always made her feel like she was intruding. Miku knew that they didn't do this intentionally, but it still always made her feel unwelcome. It was like they were in their own little world.

"You know, those appetizers do look tasty," Gakupo glanced at the plate of food on Miku's hand and then at the buffet table. "I'll just go get something to eat, why don't you two just relax and enjoy your food."

"Wait," Luka refused to let go of the prince's hand. "Why don't I go with you? There's still a lot of food that I haven't tried yet."

"Huh?" Miku looked at Luka disbelievingly and blinked in confusion. "But I got you som…"

"Ah, you can have those if you want," Luka interrupted, glancing at her servant shortly. "You must be pretty hungry after all this time, so you just go ahead and eat all those."

"Well…if you say so…" the servant looked a bit disheartened. Was Luka really going to leave her alone for this…eggplant freak?

"Great! Then let's get going Gakupo," apparently she was. The purple prince waved to Miku as Luka pulled him towards the buffet table.

"Wait, Princess! Didn't you want me to…stay nearby…?" the princess definitely didn't hear her because they were already quite far from her. The last thing that Miku heard was the distant voice of Gakupo talking about the eggplant appetizers that he wanted to try. She didn't get it; in one minute Luka was desperately looking for her, then in the next minute Gakupo comes and now the princess doesn't seem to want her around. Miku tried to reason with herself that maybe the princess was just excited about spending time with him because they haven't seen each other for quite a while.

As she watched Luka walk off with the prince, Miku couldn't help but frown as she let her eyes fall on the plate of food. Even though it always happens, it still hurt whenever Luka did that…and right now, it was hurting so much more than it normally would. Luka has known Gakupo longer than Miku, and the two had a certain kind of friendship that made the young servant jealous. She was scared of the relationship between the two, she was afraid that if ever the two of them had mutual romantic feelings towards each other, Luka wouldn't have anymore space in her heart for Miku. She couldn't rule out that possibility, especially after the behavior that she saw Luka display earlier.

Miku grabbed one of the appetizers on her plate and bit down on it hard, she slowly made her way to a side of the room where it was less crowded. She leaned back on the wall as she concentrated on finishing her food; she needed something to distract her from these thoughts because it was utterly depressing her. She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the voices of the people as she listened to the dinner orchestra playing. She felt herself relax as the sounds of the instruments flowed through her ears.

"Hey there, Miku." A familiar voice called softly to her. When Miku opened her eyes, she was met with the blue eyes of a certain yellow haired servant. "What's up?"

"Oh, hello Len," a smiled instantly made its way to Miku's face after finally seeing a friend at the party. Len was dressed well for the night; it was a yellow orange suit which he wore over white pants and black boots. It was simple, yet it suited him quite well for the occasion.

"I'm glad to see that you're smiling again. It fits better with that lovely dress of yours." Len straightened his black string tie as he took the time to admire Miku in her beautiful gown which was light yellow.

"T-thank you for the compliment, you look pretty good too." Miku blushed and gazed down slightly at the floor.

"You looked pretty down just a few seconds ago. Is something wrong?" Len asked as he approached nearer.

Miku's smile turned into a sad one as she glanced at the far away forms of Luka and Gakupo. Len followed her gaze and frowned a bit, soon understanding why she looked sad.

Wanting to cheer Miku up, Len placed his arm behind him and bowed slightly as he held out his right hand to the teal haired girl. "Would you like me to keep you company for the night?"

Miku's face turned slightly pink as she laughed softly at Len's gentlemanly gesture. She smiled warmly at him and placed her free hand on Len's outstretched one. "Yes, I would love to. Thank you, Len."

**...oooooooooo...**

Half an hour had passed and things were going great. Miku and Len talked a lot and it seemed to have cheered the girl up; but that was until she spotted Luka and Gakupo once again.

"Um…Miku?"

Len had never seen the teal haired servant acting like this before. Her eyes were slightly narrowed as she glared daggers into the clueless prince who was waltzing around the floor with her beloved princess. The usually cheerful, rational, and calm servant was emitting a very tense and deadly atmosphere. Miku's mouth curved down in a disapproving frown, hiding the teeth that were gritting down in frustration.

"Miku?" Len gently placed a hand on the tealette's shaking arm. "If you grip that glass any harder it's going to break…along with your hand."

Upon feeling Len's touch, Miku felt a bit of her tension slowly ease away. She looked at her hand and saw that she was indeed, about to crush the delicate wine glass in a death grip. Sighing deeply, she drank the remaining contents of the glass before setting it down on one of the tables.

"I'm sorry you had to see that…" Miku offered her companion a sad and apologetic smile.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Len gave Miku a cheerful grin to try and keep her spirits up. He only met Miku a few months back, but he didn't need to be a genius to know that she was extremely jealous of Prince Gakupo. From the way Miku talked about the Princess, he could tell that she was extremely fond of her. Miku wasn't desperately clingy towards Luka; rather, she was quite over-protective of her. It was like how an older sibling would react when their parents gave more attention to the younger child.

"You know, it's perfectly normal to feel that way," Len assured the servant girl. "After all, I also feel the same way when Rin goes off to a rendezvous with her lover…"

It took a few minutes for this fact to register in Miku's head, but as soon as it did, her eyes widened in surprise. "Wait…what? I didn't know Rin had a lover. She never told me about it before. Are you sure this is Rin Kagamine we're talking about?" Whenever the two girls would talk, Rin never mentioned anything about her love life, nor did she hear her complaining about it. So Miku assumed that she was single and uninterested in pursuing a love interest.

"Yup, it's hard to believe isn't it?" Len replied. "But it's true. Rin loves someone, and that someone loves her back." Miku raised her eyebrow as she caught Len's eye twitching ever so slightly. She found it amusing, seeing as how she was acting this way just a few minutes ago. "I get jealous sometimes too, but if that guy really makes Rin happy, then I'll just bear with it…I guess."

"That's really mature of you, Len," Miku smiled without a hint of sarcasm in her tone. To her, she prioritized Luka's happiness over everything else. But when it comes to Gakupo or any other male that tries to flirt with the pink-haired Princess, she can't help but be selfish. She knew it was immature of her to think this way, but she didn't want Luka to be with anyone else; she didn't want her to love anyone else romantically. She wanted Luka to only look at her.

Her eyes widened once more when she realized where her train of thought was leading. For the past few weeks she had been trying hard not to go there; but it seemed to be getting even harder to avoid as the days passed. Miku shook her head furiously and rubbed her temple using her right hand.

"Is something wrong?" Len asked Miku, whose face had turned slightly pink before her sudden and unusual action.

"It's nothing," Miku replied. "Just some unnecessary thoughts…Anyway, forget about me. I'm curious about Rin, who is her lover?"

At the mention of this, Len's face fell as he looked at the starry sky outside the giant window. "I…I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's not that I don't trust you…but, it's not my place to tell. If you want to know, then you'll have to ask Rin for yourself."

"Oh…I see."

Seeing that Miku didn't look satisfied with his answer, Len decided to give her a little more detail. "That's also one of the reasons why I'm quite over protective of Rin, because I don't want her lover to hurt her."

"How so?"

"Rin didn't fall in love with another servant, nor did she wall in love with an ordinary commoner." Miku had a slight guess of what Len was going to say next, but she kept silent and listened to him attentively. "She…she fell in love with someone from the upper class…Someone who seems so unreachable that it was a miracle that he returned Rin's feelings."

Miku became curious all the more. From the way Len spoke of him, it seemed that Rin's lover was someone more important than the nobles. No wonder Len was cautious about this. If Rin's lover was as important and prominent as he described, then that man was expected to marry someone from the nobility as well. But if he chose Rin, a mere servant, above all the others, then it would cause a scandal and a ruckus. "Hey Len, does anyone else know about this?"

"Lady Miriam, me, and a few of her most trusted servants also know about it." Len counted on his fingers.

"How about the man's parents, do they know?"

"No, not yet. He said he would tell them tonight, that's why Rin's been pretty restless at the party."

"I see," Miku scanned the crowd for any sign of the blonde, but she couldn't be seen. "I hope things will go well for her. Rin's a nice girl, she deserves to be happy."

Len nodded and agreed with her. He cared a lot for his sister and it meant a lot to him to see her happy, even at the cost of his own.

The orchestra had just finished a piece, slowly transitioning into another song. Len thought that this would be a good opportunity to change the topic before it got any deeper. He held out his hand to Miku once again and bowed, "May I have this dance?"

Miku felt flustered once again, but she maintained her posture and smiled. She curtsied back at Len before taking his hand. "It would be my pleasure."

**...oooooooooo...**

Luka and Gakupo continued to waltz across the floor, deciding to dance one more time before taking a break. "I haven't danced with you in a very long time, and I must say, I'm really impressed." Gakupo grinned cheekily at his dance partner.

"I've practiced you know," Luka smirked back at him. "I'm not the same clumsy dancer I was before. Besides, I could say the same thing for you. You always stepped on my toes when we were young."

"That's because you keep putting your feet in the wrong place,"

"Because you kept pulling me too roughly. You were pretty bad at leading back then," Luka playfully argued with Gakupo as he skillfully led her in the dance. They haven't danced like this every since they were young. Gakupo had indeed gotten better at dancing, unlike before when they would always bump into people. It was cute when they were kids, but it would be plain embarrassing if it were to happen now. After all, people say that dancing shows off a person's status and grace. Luka felt warm as they twirled around the room like they were on air; the longer they danced, the more courage and confidence Luka got.

Luka had wanted to tell Gakupo something for a long time, and now that he was 21, it was the perfect opportunity to do so. To tell him that she really liked him for a long time, and that she wants to be married to him. She had fantasies like this when she was a child, but since they were already of age, she should already tell Gakupo now before any other suitors could take him.

"Gakupo…" Luka said in a whisper that only the prince could hear. "I…There's something I want to tell you…it's really important and I believe this is the best time to say it."

Gakupo sensed that Luka was serious and nervous, so he slowed down the dance a bit to allow Luka to talk to him more clearly. "Yes? What is it?"

"Gakupo…I wanted to say that…I…I," Luka was about to confess to him, but a shade of teal in her vision suddenly interrupted her thoughts. Of course, it could be no-one other than Miku, who else had that kind of hair? But Luka was curious, what was she doing on the dance floor? 'Wait was she…?'

Gakupo gave her a questioning look, but nevertheless, he patiently waited for what Luka was about to say. When the two twirled around to change directions, Luka finally saw a clearer view of Miku. Her eyes widened in shock and what she was about to say to Gakupo got lost in a stream of emotions. Luka saw her beloved servant, dancing with some yellow haired person. His arm was wrapped around her waist and her hand was on his shoulder. They were too close to each other for Luka's comfort, and Miku had a small blush and a shy smile on her face. The way Miku looked at the boy was what made Luka narrow her eyes into a menacing glare. She felt her mind burning and muscles tensing in anger.

Nobody is allowed to see Miku make that face, nor hold her that close.

Nobody, but her.

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**...**

**And that's the end of the chapter.**

**I'm sorry I didn't update since October. Short story long, I had midterms that time, so I lost my writing momentum. It stayed that way until around November or December; I submitted the chapter to Jak656 and he proof read it. But while he was doing that, I re-read the chapter and decided to add more stuff. But it was my finals and I had to put it aside, so there goes the month of December. Before I knew it, it was already January. I just finished my short course, so now it was time to look for a job (which I don't have yet by the way OTL) and I had to make some stuff for my portfolio. January was almost over and I still haven't finished, and I was getting frustrated because of my lack of motivation to write.**

**Then I suddenly remembered that I work better under pressure. So I asked my friend to give me a dare: if I don't finish writing it by the end of Luka's birthday, then I'll do something embarrassing. If I don't finish, then I have to upload a video of myself dancing Po Pi Po on Facebook. Needless to say, it worked pretty well and I was able to finish. **

**So special thanks to my friend for scaring me to finish the chapter, lol. We'll be doing that more often so that I can upload faster. **

**Thanks for being patient with me guys ^.^ And thanks for the reviews as well.**


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